


Binded Souls

by Gracia237



Category: Beyblade, Metal Fight Beyblade | Beyblade: Metal Fusion
Genre: Action, Angst, Drama, Emotions, Empathy, Family, Forgiveness, Friendship, Love, Loyalty, Other, Togetherness, Violence, compassion - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 105,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24709273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gracia237/pseuds/Gracia237
Summary: After the hero, Gingka Hagane, defeats Nemesis, close friends Yu Tendo and Tsubasa Otori travel together and arrive in France. They explore the city, only to hear an explosion coming from the Eiffel Tower...Team Excalibur, consisting of Julian Konzern, Wales, Sophie and Klaus, is attacked by a terrifyingly powerful blader when visiting the Eiffel Tower. Tsubasa and Yu arrive to the scene and try to save their friends from the Beyblade World Championship, but the unknown blader is proven to be too much for them to handle. In the aftermath, Julian and Klaus disappear, leaving Wales, Sophie, Tsubasa and an unconscious Yu.The remaining bladers try to search for Klaus and Julian, but are unable to find the two. Wales, Sophie, Yu and Tsubasa end up teaming up and battling as a team, their bonds binding them together, their friendship growing deeper as they spend more time together...What will fall into place for these four friends?
Relationships: Sophie & Wells | Wales, Yu Tendo & Tsubasa Otori, Yu Tendo & Tsubasa Otori & Team Excalibur, Yu Tendo & Tsubasa Otori & Wales & Sophie
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Hello - An Introduction

Hello. This is my first fanfiction. While Gingka Hagane is the main protagonist in the Metal Saga, in this fanfiction, the story will focus on Yu, Tsubasa, Wales and Sophie instead. I like the idea of the 4 of them being friends, with Yu and Tsubasa already close like Wales and Sophie are. I hope that you enjoy reading this fanfiction and please feel free to comment.

(Note 1: I do not own the Beyblade series and characters. There may be references and similarities with the Beyblade anime series.)

(Note 2: Credits to the owners of the pictures used.)

(Note 3: This fanfiction has been posted on Wattpad as well, under my username Gracia237.)


	2. Prologue 1 - Yu and Tsubasa

"Tsubasa, we're finally here!"

"Yeah, buddy. This is France, alright."

"You mean Paris!"

"Paris is a city in France!"

"But Paris is more specific!"

Best friends Yu Tendo and Tsubasa Otori laughed as they unloaded their baggage from the trunk above their seats, with the former skipping with a bright smile on his face. They had been travelling together for the past few months or so. They even ran into some of their blader friends along the way.

_Don't call me Yo-Yo!_ Yu laughed at the memory of Kyoya yelling at him for the umpteenth time during their time in South Africa.

Maybe he should get Kyoya a yo-yo for the next special occassion. One with a cute little lion design.

"This is France, so is their any chance that we'll meet Sophie and Wally here, Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa stifled a laugh. "You call Wales 'Wally'?"

"Not directly yet," Yu answered. "I wasn't exactly in the mood to think of a nickname for him when he told us to _hit the road._ Remember that?"

Tsubasa smiled. "That was not very polite of him."

"And it's been a long time since we last talked to Wally and Sophie, moreover the rest of Excalibur, so yeah."

"We might be meeting them, though." Tsubasa looked down at the news article on his handphone. "Julian's private jet landed here 2 days ago, and he's brought Klaus, Wales and Sophie with him."

"Whoa, really?" Yu's big olive eyes sparkled. "So I'll get the chance to make friends with Wally and the others?"

Tsubasa laughed as the two boys walked out of the airplane. "Let's hope that Wales does not have Kyoya's temper when it comes to nicknames."

"But what's wrong with the name Yo-Yo?"

Tsubasa shook his head with an amused expression. "Yu..."

"Oh hey, there's an ice-cream stand! Let's go there, Tsubasa!"

Yu dragged Tsubasa by the arm down the escalator.

"Calm down, Yu!"

Tsubasa laughed as Yu jumped up and down with elation at the sight of his favourite food. There was never a dull moment with this kid. Going on a journey, beyblading, chatting... There was no one that Tsubasa would rather have as a partner. Yu bought a cup of chocolate, vanilla and pistachio ice-cream and decided to share it with Tsubasa, who smiled in response.

"Half and half, okay, buddy?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Yu."

Yup, the journey was always bright when your partner was Yu.


	3. Prologue 2 - Wales and Sophie

"Hurry up, Sophie! Klaus and Konzern are waiting for us at the Eiffel Tower."

"Alright, let's hurry!"

Wales sighed and smiled at his best friend and tag-team partner, Sophie, as the Cetus duo, also known as Konzern's Twin Jewels, quickly entered a cab and told the driver their destination.

"Did you really have to bring all these stuff?" Wales asked with an awkward smile, pointing at the large sky-blue paper bags on Sophie's lap.

Sophie laughed softly. "Yes, Wales. We're celebrating Konzern's birthday, after all."

"Well... fair enough."

"Oh Wales..."

Wales laughed and looked out the glass window. There was a collosal white hospital in view. In a brief instant, a memory flashed inside his mind, causing his heart to jump slightly.

_'Klaus's room is along this corridor, right?'_

It was about 2 years ago, before the finals of the Beyblade World Championship. After an utterly humiliating loss against Team Starbreaker's Damian and Jack, Wales and Sophie had gone straight to the hospital to check on their friend Klaus. Klaus had been brutally injured by Jack in Round 1 and had to be taken to the hospital while Julian went on to battle Damian. Sophie was ahead of Wales, worry overwhelming her olive eyes. Wales gritted his teeth remembering how his team's pride had once again been crushed into dust and nothingness.

"Oh dear... Wales?"

Wales halted in his footsteps and looked to where Sophie was pointing. His eyes widened. Two familiar boys were lying unconscious on white hospital beds in the room beyond the long glass window. A silver-haired teen and a kid with sunshine-yellow hair.

_Tsubasa... Yu...?_

Wales stared at the sight with sheer disbelief and a twinge of pain.

_Right before the final battle?_

"Are you two visitors?"

"Yes." Sophie was the first to reply to a middle-aged doctor. "We were on our way to visit our friend Klaus and happened to notice that two of our opponents in the Beyblade World Championship were here too."

Wales gestured at Yu and Tsubasa. "What happened to them?"

The doctor sighed. "They were apparently ambushed by an American blader. Damian... I suppose."

Sophie's eyes widened in horror as Wales clenched his teeth. _That sadist?_

"Have they woken up yet?"

"Unfortunately, no." The doctor shook his head sadly at Sophie. "But they'll be glad to know that they have many friends like you two who care about them."

_F-Friends? Them?_

_Did you really just assume that so easily, doc?_

"And you mentioned that you are here to see Klaus? He's just a few rooms ahead. I'll take you there."

"Thank you, doctor. We appreciate it. Wales?"

"Oh uh... yeah, thanks."

_Me and my manners..._

Wales sighed at the arrogant, impolite person that he used to be to strangers. He had improved over time, but he was not nearly as courteous as Sophie, for example. He remembered being grateful that he, Sophie and Julian weren't lying unconscious on hospital beds like Yu and Tsubasa even though the 3 of them were crushed by Damian. And why was he thinking of those 2 anyway?

"We're almost there, Wales."

Wales nodded at Sophie and smiled.

Not that it hurt to think of them. But why now, on Konzern's birthday?

Was it just a coincidence?


	4. In Daylight

Yu Tendo

"Where do we go first?"

"The Eiffel Tower."

In a spacious hotel room, Tsubasa studied a brochure at the study desk while Yu laid on their king-sized bed with his hands behind his head.

"So when do we go?" asked Yu.

"After we rest and have our lunch," Tsubasa replied. "That was a long plane ride, Yu."

"Lunch?" Yu gave his friend a puzzled look. "Wasn't that ice-cream our lunch?"

Tsubasa facepalmed. "Ice-cream is not lunch, Yu."

"Huh?"

"We've been over this, Yu. That was a snack after breakfast."

"O-Oh..."

Tsubasa smiled at Yu, who laughed sheepishly. "So let's take a short nap, okay, buddy? Then we can have a nice lunch."

"Oh, before that, I have something else in mind." Yu gave Tsubasa an angelic smile before smacking the latter with a large pillow. "Gotcha!"

Tsubasa laughed as he grabbed the pillow and swung it at Yu, only to narrowly miss. Yu stuck his tongue out and ran as Tsubasa chased him around their bedroom. Tsubasa was a kind, patient, caring and wonderful buddy, not to mention civilized (unlike Masamoomoo).

_Who are you calling uncivilized?_ Masamune and Gingka had yelled at Yu more than a year ago.

Hey, at least Tsubasa and Gingki knew when to not interrupt battles, Masamoomoo.

"Metal Wing Smash!"

Yu giggled as he was sent crashing onto the bed by Tsubasa's pillow attack. He could not have asked for a better bestie.

Wales

"Sophie, are these all-"

"Yes, all these are for you, Konzern, my friend."

"Thank you."

Julian smiled as Sophie handed him all the light blue paper bags. Everyone from Team Excalibur - Julian, Klaus, Sophie and Wales - were all in front of the Eiffel Tower, privately celebrating the team leader's birthday. They had set up a picnic on the viridescent grass just metres away from the Eiffel Tower. On a red-and-blue-plaid blanket were white cups of rose tea, pasta, bread, meat, sandwiches and others. They clinked their cups together as Klaus, Sophie and Wales cheered, "Happy Birthday, Julian."

Julian gave them a light smile and nodded.

"Let's all have a bey battle after lunch," Klaus suggested.

"1 versus 1 or tag-team?" Wales asked before sipping his tea.

"Tag-team."

"I call dibs on Sophie."

Klaus let out a laugh. "As usual. That leaves me with Julian then."

"Fair enough." Julian turned to the Cetus duo and gave them a serious look. "But I'm not going easy on you two."

"Neither will we, Konzern," Sophie said as she and Wales smiled at each other.

"G-"

"Ahh!"

A shrill cry pierced through Wales's ears and Julian flinched, covering his ears. Flocks of white pigeons dispersed in the azure sky as more screams destroyed the tranquil atmosphere. Sophie's eyes widened as the team glanced around for the cause of the ongoing chaos, Wales's heart pounding against his chest.

_What on ea-_

Boom!

A blast of venemous indigo detonated near the Eiffel Tower, causing more people around Team Excalibur to flee as fast as they could. _This is not good..._ Wales gripped the handle of the launcher attached to his dark belt, gritting his teeth. _I must protect my friends at all costs._

In a blur of a moment, Wales noticed something soar straight towards him at an unimaginable velocity.

Wales's heart thumped.

"Go shoot!"

He pulled the string with all his might and released Blue Cetus into the thin air right before the object could touch him or any of his teammates. He held his arm in front of his face as the object- a bey - and Blue Cetus collided violently, triggering another explosion.

Wales struggled to stand his ground. "Ugh!"

"Wales!" Sophie cried out.

Tsubasa Otori

Boom!

Yu and Tsubasa halted in their steps as they heard the explosion detonate. Alarmed, they glanced around and gasped when they saw a hideously horrifying indigo inferno not far away from the Eiffel Tower.

"Is that... some kind of special move?" Yu asked, eyes like an owl.

"Maybe," Tsubasa replied, gripping his launcher. "Something's going on and things might get ugly." He turned to Yu. "Do you mind postponing lunch for awhile, buddy?"

"Nope," Yu smiled at Tsubasa and gripped his launcher, "I was about to ask you the same thing, buddy!"

Tsubasa smiled slightly. "Then let's hurry."

"Yeah!"

Sophie

"Ugh!"

Wales was sent flying a few meters back and crashed onto the soft olive grass, his bey landing heavily beside him and barely spinning.

"Wales!"

Sophie, Julian and Klaus reached Wales, who groaned and clutched his shoulder blade. With pain and anger rising inside her heart, Sophie aimed her bey at the opposing bey, whose owner was nowhere to be seen, and launched it, followed by Julian and Klaus.

"Call of the Storm: First!" Klaus yelled.

Grand Capricorn sent the indigo bey flying, but the opponent quickly gained aerial recovery and charged at Klaus.

"Not so fast!"

Wales and Sophie shielded Klaus with their beys.

"Do it, Julian!"

"Gravity Destroyer, Black Excalibur!" Julian commanded.

However, just before the dark sword could land heavily onto the indigo bey, an unfamiliar voice cried out.

"Useless! Blow them away now!"

Excalibur's spirit was sent colliding heavily onto the ground and an indigo blade was stabbed onto the grass, triggering a ripple of shock waves that hurled all four members of Excalibur into the air and sent electricity jolting through their bodies.

"Ugh!" Wales's shout was the first to reach Sophie's ears.

"No, Wales! Julian! Klaus!"

Sophie landed on her knees and winced at the stinging pain. She was wearing a skirt that reached just above her knees and she could feel the wounds from falling onto sharp blades of grass bleeding underneath. Trying to get up, she gasped softly as the pain intensified and sent her crashing back into her knees.

"Sophie! Sophie!"

"Malevolence, do it now!"

Sophie's eyes widened as Wales crouched down beside her and held her tightly on the shoulder. _Wales..._ Wales's aquamarine eye was glimmering with sheer worry, fear and agony at the sight of an injured Sophie and she could not help but writhe for him. But her attention was soon shifted to the incoming indigo bey that was charging straight towards them with a matching aura. Looking around, Sophie noticed Klaus and Julian forcing themselves up and all their beys hardly spinning.

"Sophie! Wales!" Julian and Klaus cried out.

Sophie squeezed her eyes shut and gripped Wales's hand tightly, but a voice caused her heart to jump.

"Libra, Final Inferno Blast!"


	5. Lance

Yu Tendo

"Libra, Final Inferno Blast!"

Yu and Tsubasa sprinted as fast as they could towards the Cetus duo as Flame Libra released a vast inferno of eerie, green light.

"Wales! Sophie!" Tsubasa shouted. "Are you guys okay?"

"I'm fine," Wales responded, smiling faintly as he gave the Japanese bladers a nod of acknowledgement. "But Sophie..."

"I'll be okay, Wales," Sophie assured softly, smiling weakly as she looked down at her bleeding knees. She gave Yu and Tsubasa a kind smile. "It's been quite awhile, Yu, Tsubasa..."

Yu smiled brightly. "Yeap, Sophie, Wally."

"W-Wally?" Wales stuttered.

"We'll go over Yu's nicknaming habits later," Tsubasa said, glancing at Yu. "Where are Konzern and Klaus?"

Sophie and Wales gasped.

"Klaus! Julian!" Wales shouted as the four bladers looked around.

Flame Libra's special move had been broken by Malevolent, which had swerved towards Gravity Destroyer and Grand Capricorn, which were spinning weakly on the grass. Klaus and Julian were metres away, barely standing up properly.

"We need to g-" Sophie moaned as the pain on her knees prevented her from getting up.

"Tsubasa and I'll go; Wally, please stay with Sophie, okay?" Yu smiled assuringly as Tsubasa nodded. "We'll try our best to help Konzern and Klaus."

Wales nodded briefly.

"Thanks."

With that, Yu and Tsubasa rushed towards Juliana and Klaus, their beys gliding right in front of them.

"Konzern! Klaus!" Tsubasa yelled. "Hang in there! Eagle; Metal Wing Smash!"

"Libra: Sonic Wave!" Yu cried out.

"Useless." An unfamiliar voice rang out, its tone cold.

"Wah-"

Before the partnered beys' special moves could be activated, a vile indigo bey slammed against theirs with brute force, knocking them apart. Yu's eyes widened as did Tsubasa's.

"Eagle!"

"Libra!"

"Special Move! Malevolence: Strike of Death!"

"Run, Tsubasa, Yu!" Klaus shouted in alarm. "That attack is aimed right at you both!"

Klaus was right. The bey summoned a lethal, razor-edged lance, and with a feral velocity, it swung itself and windmilled straight at the two best friends.

"Tsubasa! Yu!" Sophie screamed.

Tsubasa and Yu ran as fast as they could. Yu glanced over his shoulder and his emerald eyes nearly bulged when he realized who was the true target.

"Tsubasa!"

In a flash, Yu threw himself between Tsubasa and the deadly weapon, not caring what happened to himself as long as Tsubasa was unharmed.

"Y-"

"Wah!"

A blast of indigo flames was relinquished by the lance and Yu found himself flung into the air, his body throbbing and burning at the same time.

"Yu!"

The pain seared his skin and Yu winced, letting out a few groans as he heard Tsubasa and the others cry out to him. _T-Tsubasa... guys..._ Yu soon felt himself being held by a strong pair of arms, and he smiled faintly when he saw that Tsubasa, whose golden eyes were filled with agony, seemed unharmed.

"T-Tsubasa..." Yu uttered softly, "you ... o-okay?"

"I'm fine, Yu," Tsubasa assured, shaking his head at Yu's condition. "Hang in there, buddy! Please, Yu!"

Yu smiled again, his vision blurring before his eyes. "I'm... glad... buddy."

He sank into darkness, away from the warmth of his best friend's arms.

Wales

"Yu! Yu!"

A few metres away from Wales, Tsubasa was shaking Yu's shoulders, the latter limp in his arms. Wales could feel Sophie tremble and he lowered his eyes, gritting his teeth in anger.

"You do know that I could have killed that kid, right?"

"I beg your pardon?" Wales questioned coldly, glancing around for the owner of that voice. "Just who are you, you big mouth?"

_I don't need to watch my manners when it comes to someone like_ **_you._ **

Wales and Sophie gasped when they heard a mocking laugh ring in the tense atmosphere. They saw a young man with spiky indigo hair and ruthless, black eyes that gleamed with ridicule and malice step into the scene that he himself had created, his dark cape swaying behind him.

"Big mouth, huh?" The boy sneered at Wales, who glared straight at him. "The name's Hayoto, _big mouth_."

"Call me whatever you want, but I'm sure we'd all be glad if you hit the road and buzz off!" Wales countered, his blood boiling.

Hayoto grinned. "Do you really have the guts to talk back when I have all the power?"

"You-"

"But not that it matters. I'm not here for you, the kid, eagle-boy or your girl."

Wales stared at him incredulously. _My girl?_

"Guys, take 'em!"

"What-"

"Julian! Klaus!"

Sophie and Tsubasa's voices sent chills down Wales's spine and he swiveled around to find several men tackling Julian down to the sharp blades of grass. One fired a stun gun at Klaus, causing jolts of blue electricity to paralyze the power blader.

Wales's eyes widened. _No!_

Carrying an unconscious Yu in his arms, Tsubasa rushed towards Julian and Klaus along with his bey, his face full of sheer panic. Sophie tried to get up, and this time, Wales carefully pulled her up and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Sophie winced, but Wales gave her a reassuring smile.

"Stand back, Tsubasa, Wales, Sophie!"

Wales's leader's command startled everyone, and he found himself protesting back.

"But Julian-"

"I said-"

Julian was stifled by a black handkerchief and his head thudded onto the ground, never finishing his sentence.

Sophie screamed, "Julian!"

But before anyone could reach Julian and Klaus, Hayoto's bey emanated sinister indigo fog that clouded over Wales's vision for a few moments. Clenching his teeth, Wales cursed inside his head and tried to recover his sight, hoping that he could still save Julian and Klaus. However, by the time, the fog lifted, only four people remained:

Himself, Sophie, Tsubasa, Yu.

Wales cursed at his inability to protect his friends. _Ugh!_

Julian Konzern

Julian slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He remembered passing out after being gagged by a drugged handkerchief, Sophie's scream reverberating inside his head. His heart thumped when he realized that all he could see was pure darkness and not a single sound could be heard. He tried to stand up, but noticed that he could do so. His arms and legs had been bound by taut rope and he struggled about, kicking at empty air. He tried to shout for help and call out to Klaus, but he could not speak either; something gagged his mouth.

Julian sighed in frustration. _What is this situation?_

"These are orders from the boss. We'll initiate the transfer now; coast is clear."

"Yes, Mike."

"Are those two any trouble?"

"No, they can't do a single thing."

"Good."

Julian flinched as a door screeched and he felt a few rough hands haul him up. _What an atrocious melody._ He quietly obeyed when he was forced to limp as he was dragged away, their footsteps echoing in the unknown place, most probably a cellar.

_How will this end?_


	6. Team

Tsubasa Otori

"Tsubasa! Thank goodness you're okay. How's Yu?"

Tsubasa sighed as he smiled lightly at his friends who were on the other side of the computer screen: Gingka, Kenta, Madoka, Yuki, Chris. The news of the attack on the Eiffel Tower spread across the world like a tumultous ocean, and Tsubasa had been endlessly getting texts and video calls from his friends: Masamune, Toby, Zeo and King, Team Wang Hu Zhong, Gingka's team, and even Kyoya's group.

"I'm fine, thanks, Kenta." Tsubasa nodded. "But Yu, he's..."

Tsubasa's words trailed off at the mention of his best friend. Yu had not woken up yet, and it had been two days now. Tsubasa's heart wrenched and he could still vividly see how the younger boy had leaped in front of him and saved him from the vicious attack before falling unconscious in his arms.

_Yu..._ Tsubasa could feel a pang of guilt strike his heart. _I'm sorry..._

"Yu will be fine, Tsubasa."

Gingka gave Tsubasa an assuring smile.

"He will be. I know he will be. With us all by his side, he will be okay in no time."

Tsubasa laughed softly at Gingka's optimism.

"And anyways, how's the search for Julian and Klaus going?"

Tsubasa's smile faded at the question. He, Wales and Sophie had notified the police and the Konzern family, but the search had so far been fruitless. They were now staying in Wales and Sophie's massive apartment together. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Sophie placing a damp towel over Yu's head and Wales arguing over the phone with someone.

"There's no progress," Tsubasa answered, lowering his voice as he heard Wales shout, "Buzz off!" before hanging up. "It's unsettling, to be honest. Everyone's really worried about Yu, Konzern and Klaus, and there is no sign of Hayoto or his bey."

"I'm sure we'll all work something out, Mr Tsubasa," Yuki assured with a sincere smile.

"Cut out with the formalities!" Chris exclamied.

Yuki smiled sheepishly as Tsubasa laughed.

"Thanks, guys." Tsubasa smiled slightly. "I'll chat with you guys again later. I'm gonna go check on Yu."

"Bye, Tsubasa!"

With that, Tsubasa hung up. At the same time, Wales bent down next to Yu, whose face was still pale with a fever.

"His fever has gone down, but he still hasn't woken up," Sophie said as Tsubasa approached the Cetus duo.

Tsubasa crouched down and held the younger boy on the shoulder. _Yu... please wake up soon, buddy..._ Remembering something, he turned to Wales, whose azure eye was blazing with frustration from the previous phone call.

"What happened, Wales?"

Wales sighed at Tsubasa's question.

"Some guy demanding to battle me right now. He doesn't care that I'm right here, upset that my friends are missing and one of them is ill, and there has been hardly any good news, and he keeps calling me some kind of coward and so on." Wales gritted his teeth. "It's inconsiderate and insulting, so I told him to buzz off."

Tsubasa managed to give Wales a faint smile. "Some people just lack empathy. It's fine, Wales."

Sophie nodded in agreement and Wales let out an exasperated, tired sigh.

"You guys are so calm, you know."

"Ugh... Tsubasa? Tsubasa! Wally! Sophie!"

The trio's eyes widened and they swiveled around to face Yu, who was squirming and struggling under the azure quilt, his eyes shut tightly, his forehead beaded with sweat. _Yu!_ Tsubasa's heart leapt and in a flash, his hands were on Yu's shoulders and he was trying to shake him out of his suffering.

"Yu! It's okay; we're all okay, buddy!" Tsubasa yelled urgently as Wales pulled the quilt down and Sophie rubbed Yu's orange hair. "Just calm down, Yu. We're all here."

Yu's eyes shot open and he glanced around in panic, his breathing ragged. His olive eyes soon landed on Tsubasa, Wales and Sophie and tears started to leak out of those eyes. Tsubasa managed a small smile and Yu threw himself onto the older boy and sobbed into his shoulder.

"Tsubasa, guys... you guys are all okay!"

More tears broke free and Tsubasa stroked Yu's hair with a relieved sigh, a lofty burden finally releasing itself from his heart. Wales smiled slightly and Sophie patted Yu's back.

"We're all glad you're okay... Yu..." Tsubasa said gently, pulling away to look into Yu's large green eyes.

Yu smiled as brightly as he could manage and nodded before letting out a soft groan. Worried, Tsubasa immediately tucked Yu back into bed, with Wales pulling the quilt and Sophie preparing a glass of water.

"I'll... be fine, guys."

Yu smiled weakly, his head laid on the pillow, and Sophie offered him a glass of water.

"Are Konzern... and Klaus... alright?"

Wales looked down at the bed. "No, but we'll keep looking."

"Leave it to us for now; you've done so much already," Sophie assured, smiling gently as she helped Yu drink from the glass.

"T-Thanks..."

Tsubasa patted Yu's head as the latter gre drowsy and started to fall back into sleep. Sophie chuckled at the sight and whispered, "You can't help but find him adorable," to which Wales rubbed his hair awkwardly. Right before his eyes shut, Yu asked a question.

"Say, guys... are we... a team... now...?"

Sophie

Sophie's pale green eyes widened at Yu's question. _Wah?_ Wales's expression mirrored her surprise, but Tsubasa's eyes only widened slightly before a light smile graced his lips. _A team? The only team Wales and I ever belonged to is Excalibur._ Tsubasa turned to the Cetus duo and motioned them to follow him as he stepped towards the door. Wales and Sophie wordlessly nodded and did as he said, careful not to disrupt Yu's rest.

Once they were in the living room, Wales spoke first.

"Wait... you're not denying this, are you, Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa leaned against the wall, arms folded, his golden eyes faintly amused.

"Why would I? We are a team, aren't we?" Tsubasa smiled at Wales. "I mean, try and look at this from Yu's point of view. It's clear that we've been here the whole time, taking care of Yu, trying to locate Julian and Klaus, organizing searches and answering calls together. And this isn't the time of the Beyblade World Championship anymore, right?"

Sophie observed as Wales looked down. "True, but-"

"And we're all friends."

Sophie's heart warmed at the words while Wales's eyes widened in astonishment.

"F-Friends?" Wales stuttered.

Sophie laughed softly. "You can have friends other than me, Klaus and Konzern, you know."

"I know that!"

Tsubasa laughed.

"Not you too!"

Sophie couldn't help but laugh along with Tsubasa as Wales's face turned more and more flustered. She liked the idea of the four of them being friends. She knew that she and Wales didn't have much time to truly get to know Tsubasa and Yu during the Beyblade Year Championship, but she wanted to be their friend. Turning to Wales, she smiled when her best friend and partner started to laugh as well.

_And I'm sure that Konzern and Klaus wouldn't mind. Maybe we can be a new Team Excalibur._

"See?" Tsubasa gestured at themselves. "This is what friends do. And I'm sure that there will be more smiles and laughter when Yu wakes up."

Sophie smiled. "I didn't know you were this outspoken, Tsubasa."

Wales shrugged. "I guess he learned quite a lot from the kid. Remember how he yelled at your dark side during the Beyblade World Championship?"

Tsubasa's eyes widened. "How do you know about my dark side? I mean, that it's not me."

Wales smirked. "Hearing Ryuga lecture us wasn't total nonsense after all."

The three of them laughed and deep down, Sophie prayed that Yu could join them soon, and that Julian and Klaus could be here with them too.

_Please be safe..._

Klaus

"Ugh!"

His arms and legs shackled to the stony wall, Klaus grunted as he tried one last desperate attempt to break free, mentally hoping that Julian was alright. He was trapped in a cell, his voice echoing in the hollow underground. He yelled, hoping that Julian could hear him, but he heard no response. His mind then somehow wandered off to Tsubasa, Yu, Wales and Sophie, who had also been there during the attack.

_Guys... please hurry!_

"Well, well. The power blader of Excalibur is powerless in chains."

Klaus growled at the familiar, sadistic voice. _Hayoto._ The cell door creaked with a high-pitched scream and in came Hayoto and a few men, the latter's smirk making Klaus's blood boil.

"Let me go now!" Klaus demanded. "And where's Julian?"

"Oh, the grand heir." Hayoto snorted, pulling his launcher out. "Don't you worry. Once I'm done with you, he's next."

Klaus's eyes nearly bulged when he saw that Hayoto was aiming straight at his chest. "No way... you wouldn't-"

The last thing that Klaus saw was Hayoto's evil grin before the latter hissed, "Go shoot!"


	7. Begun

Wales

After two more days, Yu had fully healed. While Wales and Sophie tried to locate Julian and Klaus using separate laptops, Yu would try and help Tsubasa, who was researching about Hayoto and his bey. Wales glanced over and held back a laugh whenever Yu smacked his best friend with a pillow whenever the silver-haired teen seemed to be pushing himself too hard.

"Yu!" Tsubasa laughed.

"Overworking is not going to help, Tsubasa!" Yu countered with a chortle.

"Shining Tornado Buster!"

"They can be adorable sometimes." Sophie had taken her white earplugs off and gave Wales a thoughtful smile. "Isn't that right, Wales?"

"Uh..." Wales awkwardly rubbed his head, not entirely willing to admit the truth, averting his eyes from Sophie's gaze.

"Wales?"

Slowly, Wales turned to face Sophie and couldn't help but blush at his previous actions. Yet Sophie simply laughed softly and gave him a kind smile. _That's Sophie. Always incredibly kind._ Wales soon found himself smiling back, secretly wishing that she would keep smiling like that.

_Why is-_

Crash!

The four of them all halted what they were doing and swiveled to face the door. _What's going on outside?_ Wales mentally shook his head as he stood up and walked towards the door. _Does it really hurt to be more civilized around here?_

"Be careful, Wales," Tsubasa called out. "It might not be what you expect."

Wales nodded briefly and quietly unlocked the door. His heart stumbled slightly and he took a deep breath before turning the doorknob and opening the door.

His heart nearly collapsed in his chest.

"Klaus!"

Klaus laid on the ground, flat on his stomach, unmoving. Wales hurriedly crouched next to his close friend and ally, and turned him over, his heart racing at an uncontrollable speed. He could hardly breathe at the sheer sight of the wide lesions that had been torn open on Klaus's right shoulder and left arm, and the crimson blood that soaked his ripped olive T-shirt. He could feel Sophie, Yu and Tsubasa bend down near him, and noticed a white paper peeking out of Klaus's pocket.

"What's that?"

Yu plucked the paper out and with pain and fear crossing his usually-blithe face, unfolded the note. In less than three seconds, the young boy started to quiver.

"Yu!" Tsubasa and Wales exclaimed.

With more anguish and worry flooding her green eyes, Sophie carefully turned Klaus's body over, whispering, "Please be alive, Klaus..." Wales placed a hand on her shoulder and watched as Klaus's face came into view. Klaus's eyes were shut tight and agony was evident on his normally-tough expression, causing Wales's heart to clench.

_That guy... Hayoto...!_

Sophie pressed a hand against Klaus's throat and barely managed to utter, "He's alive."

Tsubasa had begun to dial the nearest hospital, but Wales remained unnerved, his heart beating too fast. _Is this some kind of sick joke?_ As they waited, Wales couldn't help but woner as to what on earth could be on that little note. Seeing the deep fear in Yu's eyes, Wales gently asked the boy to pass him the note, which he shakily did. After giving Yu a faint smile, which was beyond difficult to do at a time like _this,_ Wales carefully perused the note.

In less than a split-second, Wales's eyes widened.

By the time he was done,

he.

Was.

Furious.

The Note:  
 _Hey, kiddie, eagle boy, one-eyed guy, bluenette. I thought I'd be generous and deliver the tough dude as a kind gesture. You know, I could have launched the bey straight into his heart and killed him like I could have taken the kid's life. But I didn't, right? So consider me merciful. But he's not exactly in best fit, huh? That's just a bit of what I can do with my bey. A bey can be a toy, but it's also a tool, a weapon. A deadly one. I think the Eiffel Tower incident is a beautiful explanation._

_I am such a kind guy, aren't I, hm?_

_Oh, and about the rich kid, Konzern whatever, you'll be seeing him again soon. But ask yourselves this: Is he alive? Maybe you'll see him in_ _the country of the Great Wall?_

_Wouldn't that be a sweet reunion?_

_\- Hayoto_

"You're sick, I tell you!" Wales shouted, glaring out of a shattered glass window. "And I will make sure that you give Julian back and pay for what you did!"

Wales looked at his three friends and they all nodded at him.

_Yes. You guys are all my friends. Yu and Tsubasa included._

Wales looked down and gripped Klaus's shoulder tightly, gritting his teeth.

_We'll all go... together._

Julian Konzern

"Your time is due, my little heir."

Julian could feel his gag being ripped off his mouth and his chin being tilted up by a finger. He still could see nothing but darkness, and he had been forced onto his knees, his hands bound tightly behind his back. Over the few days, he had been barely fed anything but stale bread and water, and had gone through numerous rounds of nearly having a bey cut straight through his heart like a bullet from a gun.

"Release me this instant," Julian demanded in a low, quiet voice.

"I will, but not before a final test." Julian could hear the vile smirk in Hayoto's voice.

"What?"

"But I'm not sure you'll be awake to see its results, so... too bad."

Hayoto let go of Julian's chin and the latter could sense him take a few steps backwards and grabbing his launcher.

"This will not be nearly as painful as what I did to the tough guy, so be grateful."

Julian clenched his teeth. "What did you do to Klaus?"

"Goodnight," Hayoto sneered, "my little soldier."

The brief sound of launching filled Julian's ears and in not even a single, ephemeral moment, he crashed onto the ground, darkness swimming in his vision. He saw Tsubasa, Yu, Gingka and a few others, but the last people he saw...

were the members of Team Excalibur.

_Sophi... e... Kla... us... W... a... les..._

He lost his grip on his own consciousness,

and fell.

Yu Tendo

"Will Klaus really be okay all by his lonesome?"

"It's fine, Yu," Tsubasa answered with a faint smile. "Klaus will be fine. Besides, we've left a note for him to find when he wakes up."

Yu nodded with a bright smile. After checking Klaus into the nearest hospital, Tsubasa had contacted Team Wang Hu Zhong's leader, Dashan, about the twisted note that they had gotten from Klaus's pocket, and said that they would be going to China. Sophie and Wales had received permission to borrow Julian's jet, so here they all were, riding in first class. Yu and Tsubasa sat together on one couch while Sophie and Wales sat across from them.

"Anyone up for some ice-cream?"

Tsubasa laughed as Sophie and Wales stared at Yu in surprise.

"Ice-cream?" Wales repeated. "In the morning?"

Yu beamed. "Yeah! It can also be eaten for lunch and dinner!"

Wales set his teacup on the table, unable to drink at this rate. "Huh?"

"Come on!" Yu laughed. "It really brightens up the mood, Wally."

"W-Wally?" Wales stuttered.

"Yeah! Don't you like the nickname?"

"Yu!"

Tsubasa shook his head in amusement while Sophie smiled as Wales and Yu continued to "bicker" with each other, the mood evidently lightening up like sunlight breaking out of a grey sky. Wales soon called for Julian's butler and requested for 4 English Breakfasts, a refill for earl grey tea and a cup of vanilla ice-cream. Yu pounced on Wales the second the butler left, with the latter exclaiming, "Get off, Yu!" while blushing madly. But it wasn't long before the prideful, blue-eyed boy started to smile at Yu's antics and ruffled his hair.

"You little kid..." Wales muttered.

"I'm not a kid!" Yu yelled, pushing Wales further into the couch.

Wales smirked as Yu whined in protest. But deep inside, Yu grinned.

_Yeah... you found my weak spot, new bud._


	8. In the Dark

Sophie

"Julian!"

In the dark of the night, Sophie gasped in surprise and relief when she saw Julian's silhouette right before her eyes, his back turned on her, Wales, Yu and Tsubasa. Without wasting a single second, Sophie and her friends started to run towards their missing friend, her heart thumping against her chest.

_W_ _e're so glad you're-_

"Wah!"

Julian swept his hand in an downward motion and in a flash, Yu was struck by indigo lightning, the latter's green eyes wide with pure shock and agony.

"Yu!" Sophie, Tsubasa and Wales shouted.

Tsubasa was the first to start rushing to Yu's aid, but Julian then snapped his fingers and the silver-haired blader was engulfed by a feral, blazing inferno.

"Tsubasa!" Wales cried out. He turned on Julian. "Julian, stop! What are you doing?"

Sophie's hand trembled as it reached for the handle of her launcher. In a dark, graceful sweep, her team leader faced her and Wales, and she gasped.

"Eliminate the enemy."

Sophie's eyes welled up with tears at the familiar words. Those were the words that Julian had said to Wales and Sophie more than a year ago, back when he was manipulated by Dr Ziggaraut.

"That is the task that was assigned to me."

"Snap out of it, Julian!" Wales shouted. "We're all your friends!"

A scoff could be heard from Julian. "Friends? What a joke."

Before Wales and Sophie knew it, Julian had launched his bey straight at the former. Towards Sophie's heart.

"Sophie!"

Sophie felt a pair of arms throw themselves around her and a soft gasp slipped out of her mouth. _W-Wales?_ Julian's Gravity Destroyer struck Wales from behind and Sophie coulf feel the latter's arms slowly loosen around her, and she trembled.

"N-No..."

Slipping down to the ground, Wales weakly tilted his head up at Sophie and smiled faintly, sorrow gleaming in his eye.

"Wales!"

"Sophie!"

Sophie's eyes shot open at the sound of Yu's voice and she jolted up, inhaling and exhaling rapidly, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Wiping her tears away, she glanced around her. Yu was standing beside her, holding a tissue out to her with worry in his eyes. Wales and Tsubasa were fast asleep beside and across from her, respectively.

"Oh, Yu..." Sophie whispered when she finally calmed herself down. "You're... awake?"

Yu smiled. "Yeap! Couldn't wait to see Dashan and the rest in about an hour!"

But the young boy's smile faded a bit.

"But are you okay? You looked like you were about to cry for a while there."

Sophie shook her head slightly and accepted the tissue from Yu. "I'm fine... It's just a bad dream. Thank you for asking, Yu..."

"A dream?" Yu repeated, taking a seat between Sophie and Wales. "What was it about? You can talk about it if you want."

"It's... silly, really." Sophie laughed quietly as Yu listened. "We found Konzern, but then he had some kind of superpower and attacked both you and Tsubasa. And then... I was next, but..."

Sophie could feel her heart wrench.

"Wales shielded me from Destroyer's attack with his own body... like how you protected Tsubasa the other day."

Sophie looked down at the blanket on her lap, her cheeks swelling with blood.

"It's embarrassing, really. I'm sorry-"

"That shows how much you care."

Sophie's green eyes widened. "Yu?"

Yu beamed at Sophie, his face radiant like daylight itself. "You're a super kind person, and we all appreciate that about you. And I'm glad to know that you care about all of us." Yu's smile broadened, if it was even possible. "Thanks, Sophie."

 _Yu..._ Sophie smiled gently and lightly patted the boy's orange hair. "That's sweet. You're kind too. Very kind." And she meant it with all her heart. At such a young age, Yu was already looking out for his friends and never stopped caring for them. She never thought that Yu was that kind of person back when they first met in Greece; in fact, she only thought of him as a weak, immature blader back then, which she felt guilty about. But look at them now, wide awake together, on a plane ride to China to search for Julian.

"Aww, thanks," Yu responded brightly.

"Always, Yu."

Dashan Wang

"Dashan, don't you think it's time we headed to the airport?"

"Yes, Chi-yun. Tsubasa and the others will be arriving soon."

Dashan smiled lightly at his best friend, Chi-yun, as the both of them, along with Mei Mei and Chao Xin, took a cab to the airport in Beijing.

"Kinda interesting that Gingka's not in for the ride, huh?" Chao Xin remarked, laying back on the backrest while yawning. "Or at least, Madoka."

"Yeah," Mei Mei agreed, sitting beside Chao Xin in the taxi. "Instead, there are two membranes of Excalibur."

Chao Xin sighed in exasperation. "It's 'members', not 'membranes'. Is this Biology class or what?"

"Hey!"

"You guys are better off saving that energy for when we are in the airport," Dashan advised from seat next to the driver's seat, closing his eyes.

"Why am I stuck between you two...?" Chi-yun complained in a mutter from the backseat.

Dashan folded his arms as the cab started to move. _This is unusual._ The last time something bizzare was taking place, it was Gingka's crew that paid them a visit: Gingka himself, Yuki, Kyoya, Benkei, Madoka. Now they had an entirely different cast of visitors less than an hour away from landing. Not that he was unfamiliar with any of them; two were from Team Gan Gan Galaxy while the other two were members of Excalibur.

_Tsubasa and Yu. Wales and Sophie._

A light smile played on Dashan's lips, faintly amused.

_This is interesting. It's not so bad to have a change in the main protagonists once in awhile, right?_

With the smile remaining on his lips and his eyes fully shut, Dashan proceeded to meditate, completely ignoring the bickering duo behind him, albeit feeling sympathy towards a poor Chi-yun, who had no choice but to cope with it for the rest of the journey.

Tsubasa Otori

"Huh?"

Tsubasa spun around, his heart thudding in his chest. _I thought I sensed some dark energy..._ There was nothing suspicious behind him, at least according to his sight. _Am I imagining it?_

"Tsubasa?"

Dragged out of his train of thought, Tsubasa shifted his attention to Yu, who was up ahead with Wales and Sophie, all of his companions pulling their own luggages.

"You okay, buddy?"

"Sorry, guys," Tsubasa apologized as he hurried towards his friends. "I just felt something... strange."

_Not exactly the best word choice, but..._

"Maybe Hayoto's somewhere around here," Wales suggested, looking around. "So we all have to keep our guard up and stay together."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"We're all here with you, Tsubasa." Yu tugged Tsubasa's free hand and smiled up at the taller boy. "You don't have to worry."

Tsubasa smiled, his heart beating back to normal. "Yeah. Thanks, Yu."

"There they are!"

Yu's olive eyes sparkled at the sight of their friends from Team Wang Hu Zhong and he bounced with elation.

"Hi, Yu, Tsubasa, guys!" Mei-Mei waved with a cheerful smile. "It's been a while!"

Tsubasa smiled as he, Yu and the Cetus team walked briskly over to the Chinese team, but he couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

_Not good._

Tsubasa looked over his shoulder one last time, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. He soon heard Yu call out to him again and snapped out of his trance.

Still, his mind was wide awake and alert, and his spine was cold with fear.

It reminded Tsubasa of a ghost of his past. Something equally, if not more, sinister, sadistic, ruthless.

_My_ _dark side. The Tsubasa that I am not and never will be._

???

"You know your duty. Move."

Eyeing Yu, Tsubasa, Wales, Sophie and Team Wang Hu Zhong, a gruff man shoved the young blader next to him with a blunt command. Not saying a word, the young blader slipped into the crowd of new arrivals and stalked the 8 friends.

"Hayoto shall be entertained," the man mused with a malocious smirk plastered on his face.

The young blader's movements were fluid with a deadly grace. His long blond hair swept in the air as he walked and his deep blue eyes pierced the back of one of the 8 bladers. The blader walking next to a girl with long light-azure hair that resembled waves, their hands almost touching. The one with long brown bangs that covered his right eye.

_The enemy is in my range of sight._

The young blader, in reality, was close friends with the brunette. But at this moment, his mind didn't belong to him right now.

Hayoto was right;

Julian was not awake for this.


	9. Fallout

Wales

"That Hayoto guy appears to be a lunatic, doesn't he?"

"Agreed."

Wales carefully sipped his Chinese tea as Dashan examined the note that had been found in Klaus's pocket. Chao Xin and Mei-Mei were having another "argument", which was triggered when the latter mispronounced something again; Tsubasa was playing chess against Chi-yun, who had challenged him, with Yu watching; Sophie was reading a novel beside Wales. Dashan had told everyone to get some rest when they first entered the hotel room, stating that tomorrow would be a busy day.

 _He's as calm and serious as ever_ , Wales thought, setting his teacup down on the glass table.

"Hm..." Dashan frowned as he reread the note. "What do you think is his intention?"

Wales looked up from pouring his tea. "Pardon me?"

"To imply Julian's location so easily, there must be a reason that he is expecting you guys to fly all the way here looking for him."

Dashan looked thoughtfully at Wales.

"Do you think this may be a trap or cruel joke? Or is there a reason that he wants you all here?"

"It may be, but we don't have much of a choice."

Wales took another sip of Chinese tea, savouring the fragrance, before his eyes met Dashan's again.

"Maybe it's a joke, but that's all we got. Julian may not be here after all, but there is a chance he might be." Wales looked at Sophie, who gave him a small nod. "And we'll do whatever we can to find him."

"Can't argue with that, Dashan." Chao Xin shrugged as he patted his leader on the shoulder. "But come on. How much of China do we have to go to searching for Konzern?"

"Everywhere, if we have to," Dashan simply replied as though he was talking about his day. "It's not like anyone minds." He narrowed his eyes at Chao Xin. "Or do they?"

Chao Xin backed away. "What? No! Not me; that's for sure!"

Sophie laughed quietly as Chao Xin went to chat with Mei-Mei and Wales smiled awkwardly. They could overhear Chao Xin complain, "Now I have to call off three dates! Yes, three!"

"I'm glad none of you are slackers," Dashan remarked, shaking his head in amusement. "1 is more than enough."

"I'm no slacker!" Chao Xin protested.

"Konzern never tolerates slacking," Sophie commented, smiling faintly.

Dashan smiled. "I can imagine."

Wales looked down at the transparent tea in his white cup, remembering that Julian's favourite tea was rose tea. Watching steam spiral up into the air, Wales could not help but worry about his friend.

_Where are you, Julian...?_

Tsubasa Otori

"Since this is a large area, we shall split up into groups of 2."

Everyone agreed with Dashan's plan and quickly split into groups of 2. Yu ran towards Tsubasa with a bright smile and the latter smiled with a slight nod, ruffling his thick orange hair. Wales pulled Sophie towards him before anyone could approach them; Chao Xin and Mei-Mei bickered with each other; Dashan and Chi-Yun nodded at each other.

"Even in a team, everyone has their little groups," Chao Xin commented, noting how fast everyone got into their groups. He turned to Wales. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Wales's eyes widened as he stammered, "N-No! Sophie and I are best friends!"

Sophie quietly looked down and blushed. "He's... right..."

Chao Xin smirked. "Oh really? It seems like you guys-"

"Buzz off!" Wales exclaimed, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

"Well, that's actually better than breaking the hearts of at least ten girls a week," Chi-yun pointed out.

Chao Xin stared at Chi-yun. "I-"

"That's true," Dashan admitted.

"Sounds true to me," Yu agreed.

"Can't argue with that," Tsubasa said.

"What? You guys too? Oh come on, man!"

After a few more moments of laughter and joking, the search started and the pairs all went to different directions. Yu jogged alongside Tsubasa and the two best friends nodded at each other, sharing a fiery determination. Leaving footsteps in the moist soil below, they glanced around the narrow streets, their launchers and beys ready, their eyes fully alert and cautious.

"Let's go, Yu," Tsubasa said to the younger boy.

"Right back at ya!" Yu responded brightly.

As they made a few sharp turns along the street, however, Tsubasa could feel something shroud his heart like a storm cloud, eerie and unshakably disturbing. A tight pain caged his heart and he clutched his chest, gritting his teeth.

_Not again!_

"Tsubasa?"

Yu stopped jogging and turned to Tsubasa, who winced in agony.

"Are you okay, buddy?"

Yu looked up at Tsubasa with deep worry pooling around his olive eyes.

"Not really," Tsubasa admitted, not wanting to lie to Yu. "I think... that..."

He clutched his chest tighter.

"The dark power... is somewhere around here."

Confusion and fear crossed Yu's face at the same time. "But you've overcome the dark power, Tsubasa! So it can't possibly be from you!"

"Yeah..." Tsubasa smiled wryly. "But... I sense it... just like at the airport."

Yu reached up and tugged Tsubasa's hand.

"But you're not alone now. You know that, don't you?"

Tsubasa nodded. "Yeah... I know." His heart seemed to relax at Yu's assurance. "Thanks, Yu."

Yu smiled back.

"Say... do you think it could be that Hayoto guy?"

Tsubasa shook his head. "It can't be. When we were in Paris, I didn't sense anything like this."

Yu frowned. "But you know... when it comes to this kind of dark power, it only comes out when it's taken control of someone, right? Like what happened to you and Ryuga."

"Wait a second, Yu." A realization had struck Tsubasa and his heartbeat started to accelerate. "If I couldn't sense it in Hayoto, that means that he wasn't in the control of the dark power. But..."

Tsubasa could feel the weight of horror thrust down onto his heart.

"That means that... **_s_** ** _omeone_** is, right?"

Yu's eyes widened in terror that reflected how Tsubasa felt.

"And you've felt it in two places that we've gone to. That can't be a coincidence."

"And Hayoto knows that we're here. And there must be a catch in giving us Julian's location so easily, right?"

"We have to warn the others!" Yu cried.

"We'll call along the way," Tsubasa decided, taking his phone out. "Right now, we need to track the source down; it couldn't have gotten very far."

As the two boys dashed, Tsubasa called Dashan.

"And hopefully, we're wrong about the source being Konzern."

Wales

"This is quite a large stadium."

"Yes. It'd be great if we could battle here someday."

Sophie looked around the thousands of seats in the collosal stadium while Wales was downstairs in the beyblading battlefield. They had been visiting the various beyblading arenas in China, and this one was one of the largest. Examining the towering red pillars and storage rooms, Wales glanced around for any sign of Julian, silently praying that the latter was safe and unharmed, although the odds of that were not in his favour.

_Julian..._

Just then, a tail of wind swept by and caressed his long brown bangs. Wales closed the door of a storage room and walked towards the round, vermillion stadium. _Red... Julian's favourite colour._

Thump!

Wales swiftly glanced around, searching for the source of that footstep. His heart was pulsating unsteadily in his chest as he gripped the handle of his launcher, bracing himself for any intruder.

"Wales?"

Wales looked over his shoulder at Sophie, who stared at him in confusion. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Someone else is here."

Wales silently approached one of the pillars, pulling his launcher out. He attached Blue Cetus to his launcher, ready to fire if he had to. Breathing in and out, he peered from behind the pillar. No one was there.

"Wales!"

Sophie's scream pierced into Wales's ears as someone grabbed his neck from behind, nearly choking him, As his eyes widened in shock, Wales let out a yell and kneed the attacker's gut, causing the hands constricting his neck to loosen. Wales backed away, his blue eyes staring at the figure before him in sheer disbelief.

"Julian?"

Julian, however, did not answer and regained his composure, a calm, icy gaze in his blue eyes. In a flash, he lunged at Wales, his hands balled into fists. Wales gasped and whipped his body to the left, barely evading Julian's strike.

"Stop this, Julian!" Sophie cried out in anguish.

"I will kill you with my own bare hands!" Julian shouted as though he had not heard Sophie, charging at Wales again.

"Stop!" Wales grabbed Julian's wrists and tried to wrestle the blond, his heart swirling with both pain and confusion. "Listen to me! What's going on Julian? Why-"

"I'll eliminate you!" Julian shrieked.

Those words pierced Wales's heart like a sword. Julian snatched his wrists away from Wales and the latter resorted to his final weapon. _This isn't you, Julian... This isn't you at all!_

Right before Julian could attack again, Wales did what he never thought he would ever do.

He pointed his launcher at his own leader and close friend, Julian.

"Please... just hear Sophie and me out!" Wales pleaded, looking into Julian's eyes. "We don't want to hurt you. We don't want to battle you. What's wrong, Julian?"

Julian smirked. "Nothing's wrong."

Then, much to Wales and Sophie's horror, Julian aimed his bey at Wales.

"No-"

"Go shoot!" Julian yelled.

Reflexively, Wales launched his bey too.

A powerful blast of purple and blue light erupted from the collison of the beys of two close friends and allies.

"No, Wales!" Wales could hear Sophie scream in pure agony.

As his body was flung through the air, Wales could hear another voice.

"Wally! Sophie!"


	10. The Lurking Shadow

Julian Konzern

Julian opened his eyes, only to find himself trapped in a prison of dying rose petals and jagged-edged thorns. Forcing himself up, he flinched and clutched his throbbing head, wondering where he was and what on earth was going on. Leaning against a stony wall for balance, he turned to the door of bars to find a way out. But as he stepped closer, a scene unfolded beyond the steel bars before his very eyes.

"Ugh!"

Julian gasped as he recognized his close friend Wales's voice. He could see the latter crash onto the ground and two beys spinning a few metres away from the brunette. Deep confusion and shock whirled inside Julian like a powerful hurricane.

"Are we... battling each other?" Julian mumbled, stunned. "And what... am I doing?"

"You have given into the control of the darkness," a sinister voice hissed from behind.

Julian's heart froze into ice. "What?"

Sophie

Sophie cried out as Wales plummeted to the ground like a broken satellite, crashing face-first and letting out a painful groan. She sprinted down the stairs of the stadium and kneeled beside her best friend, deep worry surging inside her blood.

"Wally! Sophie!"

She could hear Yu call out to them again and this time, his voice was louder and more fearful. Sophie held Wales on the shoulder as the sound of footfalls filled her ears, and she turned the boy over. Wales gritted his teeth in pain and clutched his shoulder tightly. When he looked up at Sophie, however, his face softened a bit.

"Ugh..." Wales struggled to get up and Sophie helped him. "Are you alright, Sophie? And... Julian..."

Sophie nodded. _I should be the one asking you that... Wales..._ "I'm fine. But are you?"

"This pain... is nothing," Wales assured, although he winced slightly.

In a few moments, Yu and Tsubasa appeared from the thick fog of blue and purple, breathing in and out heavily, followed closely by Team Wang Hu Zhong.

"Are you guys okay?" Yu asked, preparing his launcher.

"We'll be fine," Wales answered briefly. "Where's Julian?"

"Right here."

Julian's cold voice stabbed Wales's heart and before anyone could respond, a shout was heard.

"Special Move: Gravity Brave!"

"Run!" Chao Xin shouted as a barrage of arrows rocketed towards the 8 allies, all coming from the mystical soldier known as Destroyer.

Wales grabbed Sophie's hand and they sprinted as fast as they could, the latter's heart palpitataing. One arrow nearly struck Sophie down, but Wales yanked her closer to him, saving her. Swiftly joined by his bey, Wales turned to the silhouette standing calmly inside the thick fog and yelled.

"Stop this, Julian! Why are you doing all this?"

"He's being possessed by the dark power!" Tsubasa shouted, causing Sophie's eyes to widen in shock. "I don't know how, but he is; this is not the real Julian!"

"How do we stop him?" Wales yelled, gritting his teeth as Blue Cetus clashed with Gravity Destroyer.

"It has to come from within, not only from the outside," Tsubasa answered, turning to Wales. "He needs to fight from inside; we can't do all the fighting for him!"

"So what do we do now?" Sophie asked, wanting to help Julian too.

Tsubasa gripped his launcher and aimed at Destroyer, his face blazing with determination. "We need to defeat him. Before things become worse." His golden eyes narrowed. "I don't want to stand back and watch what happened in the Beyblade World Championship repeat itself."

"You said it, buddy," Yu agreed, aiming at Destroyer too.

"Go shoot!"

"Let's go, Sophie!" Wales called out, his eyes fierce.

"Yes, Wales!" Sophie declared, a new fire igniting in her heart. "Go shoot!"

Yu and Tsubasa bought time for Wales to recover by attacking Julian head-on, pushing Destroyer back.

"This vicious melody..." Julian hissed, scowling at the two Japanese bladers. "You shall pay for this disgrace!"

Destroyer charged at both Libra and Eagle, both which hurriedly headed for the spacious stadium in the centre of the arena.

"Let's follow 'em, Sophie!" Wales suggested.

Sophie nodded. "Yeah!"

Dashan Wang

"A 4 VS 1 battle, huh? Konzern is pretty rough now."

Dashan did not respond to Chao Xin's comment as they, Chi-yun and Mei-Mei all observed the ongoing battle. Thankfully, Yu and Tsubasa had led the battle into the Beyblade stadium, preventing anymore collateral damage to the arena itself. However, there was an issue regarding this 4 versus 1 battle.

"They're, however, somehow disconnected," Dashan mused, folding his arms with a slight frown.

"What do you mean?" Mei-Mei asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Take a look at all the beys but Destroyer for a moment. It's clear that they all have the same goal: victory against Destroyer and Julian. However, it seems to me that the four of them are more of two pairs rather than a whole team."

It was exactly like the Beyblade World Championship. Dashan was honestly not surprised; they had just formed the team perhaps only about a week ago and did not have a chance to truly battle as a team. It was obvious to anyone that Yu and Tsubasa were a pair while Sophie and Wales were another. But this was not a tag-team battle. This was a 1 versus 4 battle.

If they wanted to emerge victorious,

they had to truly be a team.

Yu Tendo

"Cetus!"

Yu watched as the Cetus team struck Julian's Destroyer, causing orange and yellow sparks to fly in the air. He looked over at Wales and Sophie, who were trying to drain Destroyer's stamina. But something was off. He turned to Tsubasa, only to find his best friend frowning at the battle before their eyes.

"Tsubasa?" Yu addressed the older male, worried.

"The dark energy has increased Destroyer's strength," Tsubasa said, clenching his fists. "At this stage, he might prove to be too much for the four of us to handle if this keeps up."

Yu looked on in frustration. "So we can't stop him?"

"Julian needs to battle his dark side from within, but the least that we can do is defeat him," Tsubasa explained. "Julian needs to do what I did; accept the darkness as it is and prove his own identity. But we need to stop him from doing any further damage, and we don't seem to be able to do much right now."

Yu studied the stadium and all the beys taking part in this battle. _Destroyer, Blue Cetus, White Cetus, Eagle, Libra._ There were 5 beys and it was a 4 VS 1 match. Everyone was up against the same opponent: Julian. But...

was this really what they called 'working together'?

"You need to work as a team!"

Yu gasped when Dashan suddenly completed his thoughts. He, Tsubasa, Wales and Sophie all swiveled around to face Dashan, whose placid face was grave.

"From what I've seen, you have been battling like you did in the Gan Gan Galaxy versus Excalibur battle back in Italy. This is not the same match! You guys are all a team, not in two pairs! We all know that you can win this if you work as a team!"

"A team..." Tsubasa repeated, his voice quiet.

"Just like when everyone defeated Nemesis," Wales recalled.

"Dashan's right," Sophie agreed, smiling slightly.

"So let's start over and begin!" Yu declared with a bright grin.

Wales, Sophie and Tsubasa all smiled back. "Yes!"

Yu looked at Dashan with a grateful smile. "Thanks, Dashan!"

Dashan smiled. "No problem."

"Yeah! Let's all win this together!"

Tsubasa Otori

"Julian..."

As the battle continued, Tsubasa couldn't help but watch Julian in his peripheral vision. Julian's sudden appearance as someone under complete control of the darkness was not something that Tsubasa had ever expected or wished upon anyone. Tsubasa himself had endured, suffered and been tortured by the same enemy, and he was not going to stand by and do nothing to save his friends from being caged by the same agony. It was like the darkness never left Tsubasa; it was a lurking shadow that was just waiting for the most befitting moment to make its debut back into Tsubasa's life, through possessing someone the latter knew and cared about.

Tsubasa did not care how much he had to sacrifice.

He was not going to let this shadow hurt anybody else _**ever again.**_


	11. Prodigy

Yu Tendo

"Do it now, Tsubasa!" Yu and Wales shouted.

"Eagle: Shining Tornado Buster!"

Tsubasa's command sent Eagle descending down towards Destroyer at an unimaginable speed, cloaked in a light purple aura, and Libra, Blue Cetus and White Cetus all glided away from the lone bey. Yu had trapped Destroyer by using Libra's improved Sonic Wave while the two Cetus beys distracted Destroyer.

Clang!

Before Destroyer could make a move, Eagle had collided heavily with it, triggering a colossal explosion. Standing with one another, Yu, Tsubasa, Wales and Sophie all tried to keep their ground, shielding their faces from the explosion.

"Your plan worked, Yu!" Mei-Mei cheered.

"You go, dudes!" Chao Xin yelled out.

"Thanks," Yu said with a bashful grin, rubbing the back of his neck. He turned to his 3 teammates and they all smiled, with Tsubasa holding out his fist for a fistbump. Yu's smile brightened as he fist-bumped with Tsubasa. The smoke from the explosion soon dissipated, revealing a weakened Destroyer and four beys with stable spinning.

Julian gritted his teeth. "Grr..."

"Snap out of it, Julian!" Wales shouted, his blue eye sheening with pain and frustration. "We don't want to battle you like this!"

"He"s right," Sophie chimed in, her voice fierce. "You can do it, Julian!"

"Show us the strength that you showed me back in Hades City," Dashan yelled, clenching one fist. "Show me the strength of returning back on the right track!"

"Come on, Julian!" Yu yelled.

"You can do this, Konzern!" Tsubasa encouraged.

Julian's face was suddenly a conflict of emotions: agony, fear, anger, frustration. He slumped forward and dropped to his knees, clutching his head, his lips contorted into a slight wince.

"Julian!" Sophie cried out as she and Wales started to sprint towards their team leader.

Yu followed the Cetus duo, but a hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

Yu's eyes widened in confusion. "Tsuba-"

"Wales, Sophie!" Tsubasa's voice was blazing with alarm. "Stop-"

"Argh!"

A surge of black and indigo aura burst forth from within Julian, halting Wales and Sophie.

In reflex, Yu shouted, "Libra!"

Before the aura could capture both Wales and Sophie, an eerie, green inferno shielded the two from the dark blast, with Yu concentrating as much power as possible on the defense.

"Yu!" Wales, Sophie, Tsubasa and Mei-Mei cried out.

"Leave this to me!" Yu yelled, clenching his small fists, running towards Libra. "Let's go, Libra!"

"Stop it right now!" Julian cried, more and more darkness surging out of his body.

More force was being exerted on Libra's Inferno. Yu gritted his teeth, not wanting to give up just yet. _I want... to protect everyone. My friends..._ An explosion was triggered, causing some of his friends to be knocked backwards, but Yu gripped the railing surrounding the stadium, his white jacket swaying in the air.

"I must... free Julian and do everything I can to protect my friends." Yu could feel his heartbeat accelerating as determination, passion and protectiveness all ignited his heart and soul. "This battle... may be long from over, but..."

"Yu!" Tsubasa called out.

Yu unleashed his emotions in one genuine, resolute yell.

"I won't let you take any of my friends down!"

At that, a luminous, green aura was discharged from the young blader.

Wales

"Whoa..."

"Is that..."

"Yu..."

Wales and the others all gasped as they watched Yu's newly-discovered green aura counter against Julian's dark aura. _Where did that come from?_  
Wales couldn't help but be in awe at his teammate's hidden strength.

"It's nice to have someone other than Gingka or any Legendary blader do that for a change," Chao Xin remarked. Wales could hear the playful smirk in the former's voice.

"Well, he may not be a Legendary blader, but that kid sure is something," Chi-yun remarked.

"A great blader?" Mei-Mei asked.

"No," Wales said before he could stop himself. "A prodigy."

Wales smiled slightly at the sight of Yu giving the battle his all. _You may be a kid, but... you've earned my respect a long time ago._

_Not that I'll verbally admit it._

"Just a little bit more, Libra! Let's go!"

At the sound of Yu's encouragement and command, the green aura grew more radiant, but there was a white light emerging from the bey itself.

"Libra...?" Yu's voice was filled with puzzlement.

In a flash, everyone was blinded by white light.

"Yu!" Wales yelled.

Yu Tendo

"Wah! Libra...?"

Yu took a few small steps forward, closer towards his bey, despite his eyes being blinded by the flash of white light. He could feel his green aura cloaking him, a surge of energy rushing in his veins, a deep passion to protect those close to him lighting a fire in his heart.

"Yu!"

Yu could hear Tsubasa, Wales and his other friends call out to him, and smiling, he yelled back, "I'm okay, guys!" After a few fleeting moments, his vision returned, but what laid before his very eyes was not what he expected at all.

"Libra...?" Yu said in a near whisper.

His bey's name resonated inside his head, except that it had been changed.

"Luminous... Libra..."

The dark power had faded away, leaving Yu's green aura remaining in sight. Julian was on the ground, unmoving, and Yu's bey was not the same. Collecting his bey, he held it in his palm and stared at it in pure amazement. The face bolt was still the same: Libra's yellow face bolt. But everything else had transformed drastically. The energy ring was a brighter shade of green than the former one and seemed to be adorned by what looked like tiny, lustrous ice-blue and emerald gemstones. Instead of a metal grey fusion wheel, there was a glaucous one tinged with a pale blue colour, and the spin track and performance tip were now light azure and taller than they were before.

"Libra..." Yu breathed, disbelieving. "What happened...?"

"Yu!"

Yu turned and saw Tsubasa and the others rushing towards him. Tsubasa was the first to reach him while Sophie and Wales ran to Julian's side.

"Whoa, little guy." Chao Xin stared at Yu's newly-changed bey. "That baby's brimming with power!"

"That's a remarkable feat, my friend," Dashan praised with a satisfied smile.

"You were amazing, Yu. You and Libra really deserve that change." Tsubasa placed a hand on Yu's head and smiled sincerely. "Congrats."

Yu rubbed the back of his neck shyly, but smiled blissfully. "Thanks, Tsubasa, guys!"

"Wales was right about you being a prodigy," Mei-Mei said cheerfully.

"Wally said that?"

Yu faced Wales, who turned at the sound of his name. Wales averted his eyes away, his face reddening slightly. _Guess he's not used to saying that kind of stuff._ Yu smiled lightly. _But he's still a great friend!_

At last, Wales's embarrassed expression cracked into a genuine smile.

"Yeah. I did." Wales nodded briefly. "And just so you know, if I say that, I mean it."

Yu's face brightened at Wales's words. "Wally... thank you."

Wales smiled.

"He's breathing," Sophie said, one hand on Julian's neck.

"We'll bring him to the nearest hospital," Dashan declared, striding towards the unconscious blader.

"Yes-"

"Sophie, look out!"

Yu launched his Libra towards an incoming bey, triggering a powerful blast of green and purple light. _That light. This is-_

"Hayoto!"

Yu followed the direction of Tsubasa's glare and looked up at the spectators'  
arena and gasped. Hayoto stood proudly on the furthest row of seats, a sinister smirk plastered on his arrogant face. Malevolence and Libra clashed with each other as Hayoto addressed his enemies.

"So the party is getting bigger?" Hayoto grinned. "This is really interesting. You really heeded my message."

"You're sick!" Wales shouted, raged. "What did you do to Julian?"

"Oh, the little heir." Hayoto sneered. "I used my bey to inject him with the dark power. So now the real boy is trapped within himself, unable to control his exterior as he watches his body do all the work."

"Yu, retrieve your Libra!" Wales yelled.

Although startled and confused, Yu nodded and his bey returned to him.

"Cetus: Grand Maelstrom!"

Blue Cetus leaped out of the stadium and unleashed an ocean towards Malevolence, and Wales and Dashan carried Julian and ran, with Sophie right behind them.

"Let's get out of here, guys!" Wales yelled, retrieving his bey.

Sophie and Tsubasa retrieved their beys too and everyone ran, leaving Hayoto in the spectators' arena. Yu dashed alongside Tsubasa and glanced at Hayoto.

_We'll defeat you someday, but right now, we need to help Julian._

Hayoto, however, had the last word.

"He's still trapped. And trust me: he's not the only lab rat of mine."


	12. Leader

Julian Konzern

"Give me my body back!"

"You wish!"

Julian and his dark side struggled inside his body, yelling, wrestling and clawing at each other. Gritting his teeth, Julian seized ahold of his enemy's hands and rolled them over, pinning him to the ground.

"I won't let you cause any more destruction to anyone," Julian declared with a cold glare, "including my friends!"

His dark counterpart smirked darkly. "Do you really believe that is what you want?"

Julian narrowed his deep blue eyes. "What?"

"Are you only saying this because it is the right thing to do? Or is it that you're afraid that Dashan is going to step over you again?" His dark side spat.

Julian's blood boiled. "Excuse me?"

"Aren't your so-called friends just mere pawns?" his enemy snarled. "Just mere tools to the top of Beyblade? Quit pretending, will you? Just sit tight, relax and let me do all the work, okay?"

Julian pushed him down even further. "How dare you-"

"Come on, Julian," the enemy taunted. "I am you and you are me."

Julian's grip tightened as his anger burned even brighter. Deep down, he felt a pang of guilt and regret towards how he had treated Tsubasa back when the latter was struggling against the dark side. He had treated the silver-haired blader as though he was a monster, although the monster wasn't him but the darkness that was fighting to take control of him. _What goes around comes around,_ Julian though, looking down.

"You're scared," Julian's dark side leaned closer to his ear, "aren't you?"

"Quiet!" Julian snapped.

Sophie

"Julian..."

Sophie sat by Julian's side, with Wales's hand on her shoulder. Julian laid on the white bed, his forehead wrapped with white gauze, his eyes tightly shut. His face was pallid, a complexion that looked unfitting for someone who had remained strong for so long. Yu, Tsubasa and Dashan stood by the other side of the bed, silently observing Julian's sleeping figure, while the rest of Team Wang Hu Zhong waited in front of the hospital room.

"Come on, Julian," Dashan muttered, crossing his arms, "you can beat this."

Yu looked around at everyone in the room, his big olive eyes glimmering with pain and worry. Sophie tried to smile, but that smile soon faded into nothingness. Yu gave her a sad smile.

"He needs to conquer the darkness inside of him," Tsubasa said. He lowered his eyes with repulsion crossing his usually-calm face. "The darkness that Hayoto forced into him."

"A bey that can _inject_ the dark power into others?" Wales shook his head in disgust. "The guy's sick."

"And he is apparently not done yet," Sophie added fiercely, her heart shaking. "Someone else out there is his victim as well."

"And we'll save them," Yu chimed in, his gaze serious, "right, guys?"

"It's unusual to see the kid this serious," remarked Wales with an amused smirk.

"I am not a kid!" Yu exclaimed, mustering the fiercest glare that he could give (although it was more adorable than angry to Sophie and everyone else in the room).

"You are," Wales shot back, seeming to grow more and more amused, "kid prodigy."

"Hey!"

"The word _prodigy_ is mainly used for kids, Yu," Tsubasa pointed out, failing to hide the slight smile on his face.

"Tsubasa! Wally!"

"This team has its many differences with Excalibur, doesn't it?" Dashan asked Sophie, seemingly entertained by the entire scene before him.

"Get off me, Yu!"

"Not a chance, Wally!"

"Yes," Sophie giggled at Wales's reddened face, "it's pretty refreshing, honestly. I'm sure that Konzern and Klaus wouldn't mind this new group."

Dashan nodded. "I see. How's Klaus, by the way?"

Sophie checked her phone messages. Her heart faltered with disappointment. "The doctor said that his condition is more stable, but he is still in a coma."

Dashan closed his eyes. "That is not pleasant news."

"Yes, but all we can do now is hope for the best," Tsubasa said, joining in. "Klaus will wake up. He's not one who will go down that easily."

"Exceed the limit's edge," Wales recalled.

"That's one cool line," Yu commented.

"Yeah, you said it, Yu," Wales agreed, ruffling the younger boy's hair.

As everyone smiled, the sound of glass breaking reverberated inside the room, causing everyone to spin around to the window. Countless slivers of shattered glass were scattered across the white floor like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle, and amidst them was a rolled-up parchment. Sophie got up to take the parchment, but Wales grabbed her arm and muttered, "I'll get it. You might get hurt."

Sophi smiled at the kind gesture. "Thanks, Wales."

Wales smiled slightly and bent down to kneel on one knee and carefully picked the parchment up. Sophie and Yu leaned closer as Wales unrolled it and scanned the contents.

In a few minutes, Wales clenched his teeth and the paper was crushed in his fist. Worried, Sophie quickly took the paper from Wales and read it:

_I am not done and I never will be. No matter how much stronger you become, you will never be able to stop me. Yes, that inculdes you, you little kiddo. You want to protect your friends? Laughable. But if you want to see my next lab rat and its tricks, come to Japan and participate in the biggest group tournament._

_But if you oppose me again, you're done for._

_I. Can. Kill._

_But you already know that, don't you?_

_-Hayoto_

"What does he even want?" Wales questioned, shaking his head in contempt. "What does he think he can get by doing all this?"

"Maybe we should have dealt with him back in the Beyblade arena," Dashan mused, crossing his arms. "But leaving Julian unconscious is not a wise idea."

"So now what?" Wales asked, looking down at the floor of broken glass. "We can't let his guy keep doing whatever he likes."

"Hold on," Sophie said, walking over to her laptop on the table. She took a seat and immediately went online. "We need to search for the list of group tournaments in Japan."

Wales placed a hand on Sophie's shoulder and the latter tried not to blush at her best friend's action. Yu, Tsubasa and Dashan gathered around the laptop and Sophie clicked on a link.

"Hm..." Sophie frowned, scrolling down the webpage.

"What is it?" Yu asked.

"There is only one tournament," Wales noted, pointing at the screen. "It will be held in Tokyo by the WBBA. Bladers from around the world will meet in one arena and battle there as long as the tournament goes on."

"Where do we sign up?" Tsubasa asked.

"Here," Sophie said, finding the Sign Up option. She clicked on it and turned to her friends. "So we'll participate?"

"Yeah, no problem there!" Yu beamed excitedly and Sophie giggled at his enthusiasm. "It's gonna be loads of fun too!"

"Yeah, and we can try and catch Hayoto there too," Tsubasa agreed. He turned back to the webpage, which had finished loading. "It says here that a maximum of 4 bladers can be on one team and that there needs to be a leader."

Sophie's eyes widened. "A leader?" she repeated.

"I'm with my own team, so it's up to you four," Dashan said, smiling. "Don't tell me that you guys formed a team without remembering that every team needs a leader?"

Wales rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as Yu smiled sheepishly.

"So who is it gonna be?"

Sophie, Wales, Yu and Tsubasa glanced at one another.

"It doesn't have to be the strongest blader," Dashan pointed out. "Anyone who is capable of taking charge and giving strength to the team is just fine."

Thoughts ran into Sophie's head as she looked at each and every one of her team members. She thought of Konzern and how he had always kept hold of his pride and gave each and every battle everything that he got, whether or not he won or lost. Looking at the unconscious blond on the hospital bed, Sophie smiled slightly, mentally whispering, _We won't let you down, Konzern._ She then shifted her attention back to Yu, Tsubasa and Wales.

"I believe it should be one of you," Sophie spoke up, smiling at her friends.

"Huh?" Yu's olive eyes widened and so did Wales's.

"I know my own capabilities, and I am more of a follower rather than someone who takes charge," Sophie explained, smiling softly. "I believe that any of you guys would be a better leader than I would."

Wales, Yu and Tsubasa glanced at one another. After a few fleeting moments dissipated, Yu broke the silence.

"Wally or Tsubasa should be the leader."

Yu turned to the two mentioned boys and smiled brightly.

"You know, I hated being a sub back in the World Championship since it meant that I hardly got the chance to battle, but I don't want to be leader just because the leader gets to join just about all the battles. And-" Yu looked down at his hands "-you guys are right. I am still a kid. I don't have the maturity and responsibility to be a good leader. At least, not as much as you guys do."

 _Yu..._ Sophie had not expected Yu to admit all that. Looking around, it seemed that everyone, including Dashan, did not expect those words to come out of Yu's mouth either. Tsubasa crouched down in front of Yu and placed a hand on the latter's head.

"Saying all that is a sign of maturity," Tsubasa spoke quietly, smiling gently, "buddy."

Yu smiled genuinely. "Thanks. But I still think that I'll go for being a leader some other time."

"Alright then."

Tsubasa looked up at Wales, who was already gazing down at him. "Wales-"

"It can't be me either."

Sophie stared at Wales. "Wales..."

"I..." Wales hung his head, his eye lowered. "I am not brave enough to be one. I've always followed Konzern and never really took charge, but... that's not all. To be honest, I..."

Sophie's heart cracked at the remorse and self-loathe in Wales's voice.

"I... am not brave enough. You guys don't know how much I..."

As though he realized somehing, Wales halted with a soft gasp. He glanced up at the others, who were now staring at him in confusion and worry, and looked back down.

"... sorry."

"Wales..." Sophie whispered, placing a hand on top of his. Wales was not one who usually displayed any form of regret, especially with his high level of pride and confidence. But Sophie could see the regret and self-loathing in his blue eye, as well as guilt. But it didn't seem like Wales was going to elaborate about it anytime soon.

Still, Sophie's heart writhed for him. _What's wrong, Wales?_

"Wally?" Yu tugged at Wales's sleeve, pain glimmering in his green eyes. "Are you okay?"

Even Dashan looked concerned at this point. Wales shrugged and shook his head, forcing a smile. "I'll be fine."

_'I'll be fine' is just a way to avoid saying 'I'm fine' when you are clearly not okay._

"You sure?"

Yu may be younger, but Wales could fool no one at this state.

"Yes."

Tsubasa sighed and patted Wales on the shoulder. "I accept being the leader. But if you feel like talking about what's going on in your head, you can talk to any of us, Wales, okay?"

Wales nodded stiffly. "Yeah."

At that, Sophie started to enter the team into the tournament and then helped Team Wang Hu Zhong sign up too. But she couldn't stop thinking about Wales. They grew up together, but she had almost never seen him act like this.

_Wales... you're not okay... aren't you?_


	13. Afraid

Wales

_My mind. Is. In. Chaos._

Wales stood in front of the mirror, the bathroom door locked. His brown hair was disheveled and to be frankly but completely honest, the guy standing on the other side of the glass looked nothing like the prideful, strong blader that he had been all this time.

Or perhaps, strained to keep being.

His head was in a state of chaos, a pandemonium, a kaleidoscope of broken memories and thoughts. Gritting his teeth, he pressed a clenched fist against the cold surface, shaking his head in self-loathe.

"I nearly let my mouth run," Wales muttered, "didn't I?"

It was uncalled for. He hadn't expected his heart to start racing the more he heard Yu and Sophie confess their weaknesses and how they truly felt inside. A part of him truly did not want to reveal his pain, the sorrow behind his prideful cover. The concealing of what he never wanted any of his friends to get caught up in. Yet another one -the one that nearly made him blurt everything out- truly wanted to tell them, to let him lean on his teammates and close friends, to let go of all his pain.

But... he stopped himself.

"I don't want you... to bear my pain, my torture," Wales mumbled, a lump stuck in his throat. "But... I am still worrying you guys, aren't I?"

Sighing quietly, he looked at his reflection and slowly lifted the brown bangs that hid his right eye. The eye that almost no one had ever seen a glimpse of.

Behind it... was not something that Wales **ever** wanted to go into full detail about.

Sophie

"Wales..."

Wales had been in the bathroom for ages. Lying on her bed, Sophie couldn't help but worry about her best friend. Yu and Tsubasa were fast asleep on a double-bed and Sophie was waiting for Wales, wondering if the latter was really alright. He had said that he would be fine, but it did not seem like he was alright ever since the incident in Julian's hospital room. Pulling herself up, she wrapped her arms around her knees, pondering over whether or not she should go and check on Wales.

_What happened... Wales...?_

Just as Sophie got off the bed, the bathroom door creaked open. She gasped in surprise. Wales stood in the doorway, but something seemed off. His brown hair was a mess, his head was down and his hands appeared to be shaking. Sophie's heart bled seeing Wales like this.

"Wales..." Sophie whispered.

As if broken out of a trance, Wales tilted his head up and his eye widened.

"You're not asleep... Sophie?"

"I was too worried to sleep," Sophie replied, silently walking towards Wales.

Sophie held him on the shoulder and looked him in the eye.

"Are you really okay?"

Wales hesitated. "Yes."

But Sophie knew otherwise; Wales never hesitated.

"You're not."

Wales did not argue. Staring into Sophie's eyes, he removed her hand from his shoulder and took a seat on his bed. Deciding not to let this matter drop, Sophie sat beside him.

"You're afraid... Wales."

Wales did not respond. The pain and fear were excruciatingly vivid in his blue eye. He shut his eye and clenched his teeth, causing Sophie's heart to wrench. It was too much to see her closest friend act like this. In the darkness of the room only lit by a nightlamp, Sophie took Wales's hand, hoping that Wales could tell her what was happening, why he was suffering, why he was afraid.

"Sophie-"

That was when it fell. A single, lone tear emerged from the corner of his unconcealed left eye and slipped down his cheek while tracing a faint curve and fell from his chin onto Sophie's hand on his.

"I... I'm sorry."

Wales gazed at Sophie, his lips curling into a broken smile. His hand trembled in Sophie's as he gently pulled her into his chest.

"I'm sorry about this, Sophie. I'm sorry... but... I can't just tell you yet. You, Yu, Tsubasa... I can't."

Sophie could feel her cheeks heat up, but nevertheless, she slowly wrapped her around Wales, trying to recover from the sudden action. Most people saw Wales as an arrogant, proud and strong person and only that. But Wales was so much more than that. Those people had no idea how loyal and kind Wales could be. They had no idea how many times he had grieved for others. And they had no idea... that he was suffering. And Sophie was ashamed that as his childhood friend, she did not notice it earlier.

"I'm sorry, Wales..." Sophie whispered, tears welling up inside her eyes. "I didn't know you were feeling like this... I'm sorry..."

Wales shook his head on her shoulder. "No, it's my fault. It's all my fault."

"Wales..." Tears dripped from Sophie's eyes as she buried her face deeper into Wales's chest. "It's okay... if you are not ready to tell me yet... But if you want to say anything, just tell me, okay...? You know that you can."

"Yeah." Wales nodded. His arms around Sophie tightened slightly. "T-Thanks."

Yu Tendo

Yu could hear Wales and Sophie in the dark. He could hear them whisper, cry, apologize. He muffled a sob by burying his face into his white pillow, tears spilling into the surface.

_Wally... Sophie..._

It was a dark night. And ironically, regardless of its blackness, it shed some light on this:

Pain... was contagious.

More than anything, Yu wanted to heal them. But how could he if he didn't know what actually happened?

Wales

As Wales remained in Sophie's arms, grateful that she was kind and understanding despite the secrets that he was still hiding from her, he tried to block a maelstrom of images and details that rushed through his head. Of one particular day.

Two weeks before his birthday. A cold summer day. A metallic sky.

Colours.

Swaying blue curtains. Scarlet anger. A silver blade. A gold ring.

A flash.

Blood. Pain. Cries. Footsteps. Darkness.

An eye.

A **damaged** eye.


	14. Enigma

Yu Tendo

The large group was in Julian's private jet on the way to Tokyo, Japan, where Gingka and many other friends were waiting. Julian laid unconscious in a private room in the plane while Team Wang Hu Zhong, Wales, Sophie, Tsubasa and Yu all ate breakfast together. Julian's butler had been relieved when he heard the news that Julian had been found, but panicked at the fact that the latter was now unconscious.

"So Gingka and the others are participating as well?" Dashan mused, cutting a piece of bacon.

"Masamune and his friends too," Chao Xin chimed in.

"We have very strong opponents waiting for us," Tsubasa remarked, reading the tournament's rules. His face darkened. "And Hayoto."

Mei-Mei frowned. "Just wait 'til he gets a taste of his own meditation!"

Chao Xin slapped his forehead. "It's 'medicine', Mei-Mei. Geez!"

Yu and the others laughed, but he stopped when his eyes fell upon Wales, who was calmly sipping his English Breakfast tea.

_Wally..._

A few hours earlier, when everyone were still at the airport, Yu and Tsubasa were waiting for the others, who needed to go to the toilet. Yu took the opportunity to tell Tsubasa about what had occurred the previous night. About Wales taking way too long in the bathroom, about him hiding something and even letting a tear fall out of his eye, about him and Sophie hugging each other while crying in the dark room.

"Hm..." Tsubasa frowned slightly, crossing his arms. "Something is going on with Wales. He acted strangely when he chose to not be the leader."

"Yeah," Yu agreed. He looked down as he recalled the memory. "He looked..." Yu trailed off, biting his lip, "so... sad."

"But he stopped before he told more of how he felt," Tsubasa pointed out. "There is something that he's not telling us. Even Sophie."

"I wanna... see Wally happy," Yu spoke softly, thinking back to how his friend smiled. He did not smile often, but when he did, he meant it. Soon, Tsubasa placed a hand on top of Yu's head.

"I'm sure a part of him is. He seemed fine in the morning, right?" Tsubasa smiled assuringly at Yu. "But if you want to help him, I suggest you find a good time to ask him about it, although he may not want to talk about it."

_Yeah._

Wales looked up from his teacup and smiled briefly at Yu, who smiled brightly back.

_I will, Tsubasa!_

"Anyone up for some battles after the meal?" Chao Xin challenged.

"You bet!" Yu exclaimed, his mood lightening up like the sun at once.

Tsubasa Otori

"3, 2, 1. Go shoot!"

Tsubasa and Wales launched their beys into the small stadium. No special moves, no overpowered techniques, no explosions. They watched as Eagle and Blue Cetus clashed head-to-head, inducing small sparks of light.

_Wales._

Tsubasa scrutinized the battle, but in his peripheral vision, he was also studying Wales. Wales seemed to be acting normally, as though what had happened the day before never even occurred.

"Go now, Blue Cetus!"

Blue Cetus crashed against Eagle, causing Eagle to nearly be knocked out of the stadium. Eagle regained momentum and struck Blue Cetus back.

_But he's hiding something inside of him._

Never had Tsubasa expected Wales to be an unsolved mystery; a peculiar and difficult enigma. But now his thoughts had changed. There was a history behind Wales, and it had emerged the day before.

"Beat the attack, Blue Cetus!" Wales ordered.

"Go, Eagle!"

Yu was right to worry. Even Tsubasa himself was concerned about Wales. As the two beys clashed, Tsubasa remembered how he told Yu to try and talk to Wales back when they were in the airport. But Wales seemed to be the stubborn, adamant type. It would be difficult for anyone, even someone as persistent as Yu, to reach out to him. But Yu clearly had a better chance in doing so than Tsubasa did.

Clang!

It was a sleep out. Eagle and Blue Cetus stopped spinning at the same time. Tsubasa and Wales looked at each other and smiled.

"That was fun."

Wales said it awkwardly and Tsubasa noticed that Wales was not used to say these kind of statements.

"Yeah," Tsubasa said, smiling. "It was."

Behind all his pride, Wales was actually a cool guy.

Yu Tendo

Yu and the others did not expect an entire crowd of people to be waiting for them in the airport. As the group went down the escalator, Yu easily spotted a myriad of familiar faces waiting for them.

Shocked yet thrilled, he gazed at all of them: Gingka, Kenta, Madoka, Kyoya, Benkei, Yuki, Chris, Hikaru, Mr Ryo Hagane, Hyoma, Masamune, Zeo, Toby, King, Dynamis, Aguma, Bao, Tithi, Nile, Demure, Alexie, Lyra and others. Yu turned to the people on the escalator with him and saw that they were all in awe as well, even Tsubasa, Dashan and Wales.

Once everyone was on the same floor, the reunion began.

"Yu! Tsubasa!"

"Dashan!"

"Guys!"

"Wales! Sophie!"

Yu was tackled into a hug by Tithi, Kenta and Gingka, a flood of noise spreading across the airport. He laughed cheerfully and hugged his friends, joy rushing through his blood.

"We missed you guys!" Kenta exclamied, beaming at Yu.

"Yeah, Yu!" Tithi chimed in.

"Hey, Yu," Wales was suddenly beside Yu, hand on the latter's shoulder, "did you give any of these guys nicknames?"

"Yeap!" Yu smiled brightly. He pointed at Kyoya. "He's Yo-Yo!"

Kyoya scowled. "Don't call me 'Yo-Yo'!"

Wales laughed. "By Yo-Yo, do you mean the toy?"

Yu grinned. "Maybe."

"Yu!" Kyoya bellowed.

"That's creative," Wales remarked with an amused smirk.

"Don't encourage him, Wales!"

"Gingki, Kenchi, Ben-Ben, Masamoomoo and Hippidy-Hop have nicknames too!" Yu retorted.

"You still call me that?" Masamune complained.

"Now I appreciate my nickname more," Wales remarked, laughing.

"Oh come on!"

Wales

Wales and Sophie would be staying in Tsubasa's house along with Yu, who was going to be sleeping over. Julian was checked into a hospital and would be taken care of by a private nurse, with Wales and the others regularly visiting. To celebrate the reunion, Gingka's father brought everyone to a large buffet in a grandiose hotel for lunch, much to everyone's surprise. Due to the number of people, they were split into tables of 8. At Wales's table were himself, Sophie, Yu, Tsubasa, Kenta, Tithi, Gingka and Yuki.

"So you guys are a team now?" Gingka asked in between a few munches.

"Yes," Sophie replied, smiling. "Tsubasa, Wales, Yu and I will also be in the same team in the upcoming tournament."

"Whoa!" Kenta looked at Wales and his teammates in awe. "You guys make up a strong team!"

"Thanks, Kenchi!" Yu beamed. "Who are you with?"

"He's with me, Yuki and Chris," Gingka replied, slinging an arm around the green-haired boy. He looked at Tithi. "Tithi is with Dynamis, Aguma and Bao."

"Whoa!" Yu's eyes widened. "Two teams all full of Legendary Bladers."

"It's fine," Tsubasa spoke as he cut a piece of tenderloin steak. "Whoever it is, my team and I will not go down without a fight." He smiled. "We're really looking forward to battling you guys."

"Tsubasa!" Gingka's eyes were wide with amazement. "Are you the leader?"

"Yeah," Tsubasa answered, "but those feelings have nothing to do with me being a leader, but everything in me believing in Yu, Wales, Sophie and myself."

"You go, Tsubasa!" Yu cheered.

Wales quietly sipped his tea during this entire chat. The mention of the word _leader_ plunged him back to that moment in Julian's hospital room when he nearly blurted everything that he had kept locked up inside of him out to Yu, Tsubasa, Sophie and Dashan.

With his heart sinking into unease, Wales stood up with his empty plate and walked towards the food section.

"Wales?" Sophie called out.

Wales looked over his shoulder. Yu, Tsubasa and Sophie were all giving him worried looks.

"I'm just going to get some more food," Wales explained, trying his best to smile. "Maybe dessert too."

"I'll go with you!" Yu immediately hopped from his seat and ran to Wales's side.

Wales nodded briefly. "Sure. Let's go."

But Wales was actually worried. He truly did not want to drag the young boy into his problems.

Sophie

"Uh... Sophie, Tsubasa. Is something going on with Wales?"

Sophie and Tsubasa glanced at one another at the sound of Gingka's question. Kenta, Yuki and Tithi shared Gingka's concern.

"Yeah," Tsubasa finally answered after a while. "But he won't tell us what happened."

"Oh."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Kenta asked.

Sophie looked down. "For now... I think it's best if you don't ask Wales about it for now. I think that there's a reason that he's not telling us."

Sophie knew it. The tears that fell from his eye, the distress, pain and fear on his face, the conflict that must be torturing him deep inside his heart... Wales was in agony. And...

Sophie could feel her heart wrench again.

She was unable to save him from it. To truly heal him.

_Wales..._

"But really..." Sophie whispered, feeling tears build up behind her eyes, "I wish we could do more for him..."

Wales

"Um... Wally?"

"Yes?"

Yu was waiting for his cup of chocolate ice-cream and Wales was beside him. Wales smiled politely when Hyoma and Hikaru passed by, and Yu beamed when his cup was handed over to him by a smiling attendant.

"Are you feeling alright, Wally?"

Wales's eyes widened. _I'm ridiculously obvious, aren't I?_ he mentally chastised himself.

"Yes," Wales replied too dismissively.

Yu's cheerful face turned conflicted. "You're not, are you?"

Wales averted his eyes away. "I-"

"I saw what happened last night with Sophie."

Wales stared at Yu in sheer disbelief. _Wasn't he asleep?_

"Wally, we all are worried about you, you know," Yu continued, looking up at Wales with wide, worried eyes. "Sophie, Tsubasa, me... And Gingki, Kenchi and the rest at our table can tell."

_Yes, I am undeniably, ludicrously obvious._

"I can't tell you about it," Wales said in a half-mutter, "... not even Sophie."

Yu gave Wales a pleading look. "Why not?"

Wales slowly ruffled Yu's hair. "I... can't. Not right now, at least."

"But why?"

Yu was clearly not going to let this drop. Was it annoying to Wales? Yes. Very. But was Wales mad? Nope. Wales was actually glad to know that the younger boy cared, regardless of how dismissive Wales had been.

"Can you give me a clue?" Yu tugged at Wales's jeans with his free hand, displaying his puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

"Uh..." Wales hesitated.

"Please?"

At the end, Wales groaned. "Fine."

He bent down to Yu's level and pointed straight at the bangs covering his right eye. Yu tilted his head in confusion.

"Why do you think I cover this eye?"

Honestly, Wales had no clue as to why he was letting this kid know. He had even chose to not disclose this hint to Sophie when she asked about it. And many were curious as to why Wales covered his eye, although most simply concluded that it was a part of some cool hairstyle.

Wales inwardly scoffed at how wrong those people were.

"I don't know," Yu replied earnestly. "Is it some awesome hair-do? Or do you find it cool? Or did you wanna look like some popstar? Oh, wait, wait. Is it that you want to shield that eye from the sun?"

Pain pricked at Wales's heart. Yu's thoughts were all so innocuous, so innocent, that if he found out what the truth was, it could truly break him. Wales couldn't stand the thought of the kid's innocence being shattered in the future, so he had absolutely no choice but to just tell Yu now. At least, so that the younger boy could grasp the reality instead of thinking of the reason as something harmless.

Wales wasn't sure what to do after he spilled it out to Yu.

"That's... not it."

Yu's eyes widened. "Then what?"

Wales beckoned Yu closer and he obediently followed. Silently praying that he would not regret this, Wales whispered a few words into Yu's ear.

Right after that...

Yu started to tremble.


	15. Clue

Yu Tendo

When Wales, Tsubasa and Sophie were fast asleep, Yu quietly hopped off the bed and logged onto Tsubasa's computer. He needed to try and find out what had happened to Wales. He had to do whatever he could to heal his pain, his scars. Yu remembered the agony in Wales's voice and words back when they were alone in the buffet.

 _It... does... not work,_ Wales had whispered, choking the words out.

Yu typed, _causes of blindness_ , and hit the Search button. He was not allowed to tell anyone, even Tsubasa and Sophie, yet; Wales wanted to tell them himself at the right time. But Yu was given this clue. And now he wanted to dive in deeper to understand better. Yes, he didn't realize that such a thing could happen to Wales. Yes, he was still quite young. But he wanted to understand.

He needed to, and not only for his own sake.

He entered a website and started reading. He had cried when Wales told him. He remembered how Wales gave him a tissue and apologized when the tears ran down his face.

 _I'm sorry, Yu_ , Wales had muttered with pain sheening in his cerulean eye, _but I could not bear to let the truth hit you hard in the future. You needed to know earlier than then._

"Wally..." Yu whispered, a tear rolling down his left cheek.

"Yu...? What are you doing?"

"Sophie!" Yu hurriedly wiped the tear away from his face as Sophie quietly approached him from behind. "You're awake?"

Sophie laughed softly. "Yes. I might have drank too much coffee."

Her eyes then shifted to the computer screen.

"Wah...?"

Yu quickly shut the computer off, his heart pounding against his chest.

"Blindness?" Sophie's green eyes were filled with confusion. "Why are you reading about that?"

"Oh, um..." Yu could feel his forehead beading with sweat. "I... I can't tell you!"

Sophie's gaze was concerned. "Why?"

"U-Uh..."

"You're behaving like Wales..." Sophie mused. Her eyes soon widened. "Don't tell me..."

"I-I can't say!" Yu blurted.

"Did Wales say something?" Sophie asked.

"U-Uh..."

"It's his eye, right?"

"Um... um... Sophie... Uh..."

"He told you to keep it a secret, didn't he?"

Extremely overwhelmed, Yu was starting to freak out. He did not want to lie, but he could not tell the truth either. He didn't want to be dishonest to Sophie, but there was no way he wanted to break Wales's trust. What on earth was he supposed to do?

"Shh..." Sophie gently stroked Yu's hair. "It's fine. That shows that you don't want to break Wales's trust."

Yu looked down in abject guilt. "Sophie..."

"Your reactions gave you away, though."

"Huh?" Yu stared at Sophie, who laughed softly.

"But don't worry. I won't tell Wales." Sophie gave Yu a warm smile. "You may switch on the computer now."

Yu nodded slightly and turned it back on.

"So..." Yu rubbed two fingers together. "You're... not mad?"

Sophie's eyes widened. "About what?"

"About Wally not telling you but me," Yu answered. "I mean, you are the one closest to him, so I thought that you'd be hurt if you knew that he told me."

Sophie sighed and smiled at Yu. "I'm not. Actually, I do understand why he chose to tell you."

"Huh?" Yu stared at Sophie in awe.

"You're so innocent, Yu," Sophie whispered, patting him gently on the head. "So young, so innocent... I'm sure that he was afraid of breaking you if you found out about it all at once."

Yu nodded a bit, happy to know that Wales truly cared for him. But sorrow wrenched the boy's heart when she noticed the tears glimmering in Sophie's pale green eyes.

"I wish he'd told me earlier, though..." Sophie whispered wistfully, more to herself than to Yu. "Has he been hiding this all this time...?"

Sophie

As Yu gave Sophie a tissue, she proceeded to tell the younger boy about Wales.

"He never told any of us why he covered his eye with his hair," Sophie spoke softly, remembering her childhood days with Julian, Wales and Klaus. "It was strange, really. One day, when we were all 6 years old, he suddenly showed up with one eye covered. Klaus and I asked why, but Julian told us not to press Wales. Sometimes I wonder if Julian has something to do with it..."

"Julian does not give up answers if he doesn't want to, does he?" Yu asked, stroking his chin.

"Yes, that's right." Sophie smiled. "Konzern is very stubborn, but he is kind."

Yu nodded happily. "Yeah. I just wish more people knew that. About him and Wally."

Sophie smiled. "You care a lot about Wales, don't you, Yu?"

"Uh-huh," Yu replied.

Wiping her eyes, Sophie rubbed Yu's orange hair. She did not think that someone as young and inexperienced as Yu could be this caring and understanding to people that they just met. Maybe it was because Sophie, Wales, Julian and Klaus already had one another's backs ever since early childhood. But Sophie sincerely appreciated Yu's kindness. She truly did, with all her heart. And she was sure that it was that kindness that prompted Wales, who barely trusted anyone easily, especially strangers, to somewhat confide in the young Japanese blader.

"I do too," Sophie whispered faintly. "I hope that he understands that."

Yu gave Sophie another tissue. "Yeah. Same here. Say..." He gazed into Sophie's eyes with wonder. "Do you love Wally?"

Sophie's heart halted at the unexpected question. "W-Wah...?"

"I mean, you two spend an awfully great amount of time with each other, you battle together just about all the time, you guys blush when teased and Wally even cried and hugged you last night," Yu replied, counting the points off his fingers.

Sophie's mouth was slightly open and her cheeks were flaring. _He saw_ **that** _?_ Sophie was at a loss of words that she did not even notice Yu watching her and Wales's moment last night. She and Wales were not a couple; they were clearly a duo and best friends, but not a couple. But that one moment in each other's arms, silently letting their tears go, Wales so vulnerable and not letting his pride mask his true feelings felt... _intimate._ And it turned out that it was maybe not as private as they had thought.

But... why was Sophie's heart fluttering so much at the thought? Wales... was just her best friend... right?

"Wales..." Sophie breathed in and out. "Wales... is my best friend."

"Are you sure?" Yu asked, tilting his head to one side innocently.

Suddenly, Sophie was not too sure herself. "That's what we are... right?"

"Not to me."

Sophie sighed.

"But it's okay, you know. To love him." Yu looked up and beamed assuringly at Sophie. "He's a really cool guy. And really, I'm sure that he likes you the same way."

Sophie shook her head a bit. "I don't think he does..."

"He does, trust me," Yu insisted.

"I'm not sure I do either, dear," Sophie admitted, smiling slightly. "But thank you for telling me." She then looked at the computer monitor. "I'll explain about eye blindness, okay?"

Yu nodded enthusiastically. "Thanks, Sophie!"

Sophie and Yu then spent the night searching for the most probable causes of Wales's eye blindness, with the former explaining the details that the latter did not understand. Most of the causes were extreme; direct contect with acid and poison, struck by a lethal weapon, head injury. Wales, however, only had a problem with one eye, not both. Still, as bizzare as it was, neither Yu nor Sophie was giving up.

At the end, they came up with the most logical conclusion: Wales's right eye took a blow on its own. Sophie tried not to wince at the thoughts of what excruciating past Wales had chosen to hide from everyone and Yu slowly gaining a more vivid comprehension on how cruel the world could be. Sophie held Yu on the head the whole time, worried about the boy. Yu occasionally writhed and flinched in pain when he read what was on the screen, but he kept going.

Inside, Sophie smiled.

Wales

_If my friends all ended up getting dragged into my past..._

_will they ever..._

_forgive... me...?_

In Wales's sleep, he let the thought strike his defenseless, bruised self and the tears fell.

He could hear the tears ripple on the sea that was drowning him alive.

Julian Konzern

"U... Ugh..."

Julian slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on a white bed, his lower body under the sheets.

"Master Konzern!"

His butler, Andrew, was by his side before his mind even cleared up.

"Where... am I?" Julian asked absent-mindedly.

"You are in Tokyo, Japan," Andrew replied, fiddling with his glasses. "Your friends brought you here so that they can take care of you while they are waiting for an important tournament."

Julian rubbed his head, wincing slightly. "Where's Wales? Or Sophie? Or Yu or Tsubasa?"

"They are resting in Tsubasa's house."

Julian nodded briefly. "Hmm."

"Also, I have some rather unfortunate news."

"What?"

Julian frowned slightly. Although be had just woken up from his short coma, Julian could hear the deep concern and fear in his butler's usually-articulate, unhurried voice. And he needed to tend to whatever matter was at hand.

"This man has been released from prison," the butler said, handing him an article. The butler shook his head. "You and your friends had better take as much caution as possible."

Julian narrowed his eyes slightly. His gaze may have seemed calm and fierce, but his heart was starting to beat faster. _Oh no..._

"Andrew."

The butler's eyes widened at the sharpness in Julian's voice.

"Arrange a meeting here in this hospital room for the morning."

Julian clenched one fist.

"I need to speak with Wales _alone_."


	16. Our Name

Yu Tendo

"The tournament's tomorrow! But what's the name of our team?"

"I have no idea," Tsubasa answered, causing Yu to slump. "An organizer e-mailed me and said that we forgot to give our team name."

"So... what should it be?"

Tsubasa sighed and they looked around at Wales, Julian and Sophie. Julian had woken up hours ago. His butler had called early at dawn and asked for only Wales to come to the hospital immediately. Wales himself seemed as puzzled as the rest of them, but he agreed to do so. Yet Yu couldn't help but worry. Was it something bad?

And Yu could tell that something was off the moment he, Tsubasa and Sophie stepped into Julian's hospital room a few hours later. Julian simply acted as though nothing had happened, but Wales took a second to pull himself out of a daze.

Something did happen, right?

"How about something that defines all of you?" Julian spoke, his voice articulate. "Or perhaps, something closely associated to your leader, Tsubasa?"

"Hm..." Yu stroked his chin thoughtfully. To be honest, he completely preferred the first option. That way, he, Wales and Sophie would all feel more included in the name of the team. Yu remembered Team Gan Gan Galaxy and how that name seemed to be only closely related to Gingka, who, back then, had a bey called Galaxy Pegasus. And Yu certainly did not forget how much excluded he felt being a sub-member and how Masamune made fun of him because of his position in the team.

"Well, the trend seems to be words in Japanese right now," Wales remarked, looking at the list of teams on Tsubasa's laptop. "Look at Gingka and Masamune's teams."

Yu, Julian, Tsubasa and Sophie all looked:

 **Team Sekai** (World)  
1) Gingka Hagane (Leader)  
2) Kenta Yumiya  
3) Yuki Mizusawa  
4) Chris

 **Team Masayume** (Real Dream)  
1) Masamune Kadoya (Leader)  
2) King  
3) Toby   
4) Zeo Abyss

 **Team Yūgure** (Dusk)  
1) Dynamis (Leader)  
2) Tithi   
3) Aguma  
4) Bao

"The trend seems cool," Wales commented. "I think it's worth a try."

Yu nodded excitedly. "You said it, Wally!"

Wales smiled at Yu.

"Light? _Hikari_?" Sophie suggested.

Everyone thought for a moment, but Julian closed his eyes and shook his head.

"It's... okay, but not exactly the best. And it seems to suit Yu's bey more than the rest of you."

Sophie nodded in understanding.

"Fire, water and wind are all out of the question," Wales said, shaking his head. "They suit certain people more than others."

Yu then looked out the window, trying to concentrate. The sky outside was a clear azure and Yu spotted a white pigeon trace a smooth arc across the warm air. _The sky..._

Yu's mind suddenly lit up.

"I got it!" he cried out.

"What is it?" asked Tsubasa.

"The blue sky," Yu answered, smiling brightly. "It's got all of us in it. It's blue, representing Wally and Sophie. It has light, thus has me. And it's where eagles soar, including Tsubasa."

" _Aozora_ ," Sophie said, looking at the computer. "That's _blue sky_ in Japanese." She smiled softly. "It's an elegant word."

Julian looked impressed. "Very true. A word filled with connections and refined elegance."

"You're a genius, Yu," Tsubasa said, smiling and patting Yu's head.

Wales nodded with a genuine smile. "I have no complaints; it's a nice name."

"Thanks, guys!" Yu said with a radiant smile, his heart shrouded with warmth.

Sometimes the answer people looked for could be waiting right outside the window. At times, even literally.

"So it's decided," Tsubasa concluded, typing a reply to the organizer. He pressed the send button. "This name is ours."

"Yeah!"

 **Team Aozora** (Blue Sky)  
1) Tsubasa Otori (Leader)  
2) Yu Tendo  
3) Wales  
4) Sophie

 **Team Sniper**  
1) Tobio Oike (Leader)  
2) Ryutaro Fukami  
3) Tetsuya Watarigami  
4) Dan Sodo

 **Team Wang Hu Zhong**  
1) Dashan Wang (Leader)  
2) Chi-yun Li  
3) Chao Xin  
4) Mei-Mei

 **Team** **Wild Fang**  
1) Kyoya Tategami (Leader)  
2) Nile  
3) Demure  
4) Benkei

 **Team Lavshuka**  
1) Aleksei (Leader)  
2) Nowaguma  
3) Lyra  
4) Helios

 **Team Akebono** (Dawn)  
1) Hyoma (Leader)   
2) Hikaru Hasama  
3) Sora Akatsuki  
4) Teru Saotome

_This is gonna be awesome!_

Tsubasa Otori

"Do you think that Hayoto is going to participate?"

"Who knows what that sicko will do."

"We'd better be on our guard the entire time," Julian advised, pouring a cup of Earl Grey tea for himself. "I do not wish to see him pull off the same atrocious act that he used on me and Klaus."

Tsubasa silently nodded in understanding as the fragrant scent of Earl Grey tea wafted in the cool air. Julian had told them what had happened to him when he was Hayoto's captive. Tsubasa could feel a shudder slip down his spine at the memory of Julian being possessed by his dark side. Julian had assured everyone that he was alright now, but Tsubasa remained concerned; he truly hoped that Julian and everyone else did not need to suffer the entire ordeal again.

"Is something the matter, Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa's eyes widened slightly when he realized that he had been staring blatantly at Julian, who regarded him with a furrowed brow.

"It's nothing," Tsubasa answered, averting his eyes away in embarrassment.

No one said anything for a few seconds.

"I appreciate the concern, Tsubasa."

Tsubasa swiveled his head back to Julian, who smiled briefly.

"But I'm fine. And do not worry. I'll be sure to tell you if any help is necessary."

Tsubasa nodded with a faint smile. "Okay, Julian."

Wales

Sophie, Wales, Yu and Tsubasa spent the entire day in Julian's hospital room. Julian gave them some advice on battling and strengthening their teamwork and bey synchronization and symmetry, especially since there were bound to be tag-team battles and the pairings would not always be Yu-Tsubasa and Wales-Sophie. When the sun was about to set, the newly-named group approached the door. Wales opened the door for them.

"Wales."

"Yes?" Wales turned to face Julian.

"Do not let your own problems defeat you."

Wales nodded briefly. "Understood."

Julian nodded back, his expression grave. As Wales held the door open for the others, his mind travelled back to the early morning, when Julian's butler got Wales to go to the hospital alone.

"What? H-He's..."

"He is out of prison."

Wales clenched his fists, shaking his head with disdain, agony, shock, anger and fear all smoldering his insides.

"We do not know what he's planning, but we do know that his intentions are anything but harmless," Julian said, frowning slightly. "At this stage, I am also concerned."

Wales breathed in and out, trying to keep himself together. "The tournament will-"

"It will divulge your location to him, yes," Julian finished, nodding his head. "But even without that, I'm sure that he has his sources. And I refuse to let you surrender your happiness for the sake of avoiding this inhumane being."

Julian locked eyes with Wales.

"Do you hear me, Wales?"

Wales, although still shaken by the horrendous news, nodded his head. "Yes, Julian."

"Bear this in mind. He has hurt you once and..."

A wave of sorrow and guilt crossed Julian's face for a moment.

"I will not stand by and let him hurt you again."

_Julian..._

Julian was the only person who knew the whole story. Wales's damaged eye, the cause, the pandemonium and trauma... Only Julian knew and he had kept it a secret until now. As Wales walked with his teammates, he could not help but mull over the situation at hand. This could truly not only bring danger upon himself, but to everyone-without any form of exaggeration, **everyone** -that he cared about, especially those he was close to.

"Wales?"

"Wally?"

Sophie, Yu and Tsubasa all looked at him with worry gleaming in their eyes, as though they could sense his trepidation.

Wales simply shook his head dismissively, not wanting to worry them with what Julian had told him. "I'm fine."

He could tell that none of them believed him, but they all nodded in understanding.

"You don't have to hide anything from us, you know," Yu spoke up, tugging at Wales's sleeve. "You can tell us whatever is on your mind."

"Yeah," Tsubasa agreed. "We will hear you out, no matter what."

"So is there a problem, Wales?" Sophie asked, taking his hand.

Wales took a deep breath. "Well... I can't hide it. There is, and Konzern told me about it." Wales looked down. "But... it's not the best time to tell you, sorry."

"But you look really pale," Yu pointed out.

Wales winced slightly. He truly did not want his friends to drown inside his problems, agony and ghosts.

"I'll tell you soon enough, but not now. It's really the wrong time and it will disrupt your focus on our mission."

"But-" Yu tried to protest.

"I'll be fine."

Tsubasa, Yu and Sophie all glanced at one another. At the end, they relented.

"Do you promise, Wally?" Yu asked, holding out a pinky finger, making sure. "That you'll tell us very soon?"

There was no backing out. Regardless how afraid Wales was of dragging his friends into his worst problems and fears, he knew that this was the last time for him to stall. And perhaps, it was for the best.

Bending down, Wales cracked a smile. "Yeah, I promise."

Under the blue sky, a clear _aozora_ , with everyone smiling, they pinky-swore.


	17. On Your Guard

Julian Konzern

"You asked to see me, Julian?"

"Yes."

Julian nodded briefly at Dashan Wang, Team Wang Hu Zhong's leader, as the latter took a seat by the bed.

"You do know that Hayoto is going to be present in tomorrow's tournament, I presume?" Julian asked, pouring a cup of tea for his visitor.

Dashan nodded as he thanked Julian and sipped the tea. "Yes. He had discreetly mentioned it in his twisted note." His gaze turned more serious. "Is there something else?"

Julian smiled, impressed. "You are quick, Dashan."

Dashan smiled. "I need to be."

"And you're right. A problem has surfaced, and until the right time comes, I need you to keep this conversation between us. Knowing you as you are, you are the only person that I can trust to not be distracted by what I am about to tell you and truly manage."

Dashan's eyes were earnestly grave. "Very well."

Satisfied by the reply, Julian took a deep breath and proceeded.

"The only people who know about this are myself and Wales."

Wales

Late at night, Wales silently exited Tsubasa's house and walked towards a neighbouring local park. Wales wore a simple pale azure T-shirt, long black pants that reached his feet, and white sneakers. The sky above was a midnight-blue. The park was illuminated by gleaming white streetlamps and glistening silver stars. The grass was viridescent in colour and the moist parts sparkled under the light.

In a few moments, Wales stood in front of a wide white stadium, his launcher in his right hand.

"Let's go, Blue Cetus," mumbled Wales, attaching his bey to the launcher.

Then, he shut his eyes in deep concentration.

"3. 2. 1."

Then, his eyes snapped open.

"Go shoot!"

He yanked the launcher string with all his power and the bey soared into the stadium. He needed to become stronger, as a blader and as a person. All this time, he had been scared to reveal the truth to his friends. He did not want them to end up getting hurt. He did not want them to fall into his problems. But now...

"Cetus Grand Fleet!"

He was grasping for the strength that he needed to protect all of them. Remembering his promise to Yu, Wales was going to tell them very soon, and he needed to brace himself for what was to come.

He would give every ounce of his power to be there for them.

Tsubasa Otori

"A total of 128 teams have signed up for this tournament. Now we have narrowed them down to the Top 16!"

At Blader DJ's words, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause. Breathing in then out, Tsubasa gripped the lilac captain band on his left shoulder and smiled at Yu, Wales and Sophie who smiled back. Each team had to clash against prototype beys and defeat as many as possible. Tsubasa had done his best to guide his team throughout the entire challenge and now all they had to do was check the results.

"Here are the results on the screen!"

Everyone's attention all shifter to the gigantic screen above. The results scrolled quickly from number 128 all the way to number 16.

**Number 16: Team Mirai**   
**Number 15: Team Keita**   
**Number 14...**

"I hope we're up there," Yu said, his voice filled with anticipation.

Tsubasa placed a hand on Yu's shoulder. "We will be."

**Number 10: Team Lavshuka**   
**Number 9: Team** **Sniper**

"We're approaching the Top 10," remarked Wales.

"Yes," Sophie agreed.

**Number 7: Team Wild Fang**   
**Number 6: Team Wang Hu Zhong**   
**Number 5: Team Yūgure**   
**Number 4: Team Masayume**

"And now for the Top 3 of the elimination round," Blader DJ yelled.

Yu, Tsubasa and many others gasped.

**Number 3: Team Aozora**

"Yeah!" Yu cried out, jumping with joy.

Wales's eye was wide with relief and bliss and Sophie's smile matched his emotions. Tsubasa smiled at his teammates and they all smiled back, with Yu tackling him into a tight hug. Tsubasa laughed as they crashed onto the ground.

"Yu!"

"Yeah, baby!"

**Number 2: Team Sekai**

"Huh?"

Tsubasa stared at the screen in pure shock and confusion. It was no surprise that Gingka's team defeated them this time, but what Tsubasa did not expect was for someone to defeat that team. Going through the names of his friends' teams, he was confident that all had been mentioned already. He turned to Yu, Sophie and Wales, but they all looked just as puzzled as he was.

"And number 1 is...!"

The list scrolled up.

"What?"

"Who..."

**Number 1: Team Kage**

(Kage=Shadow)

"Oh... them."

Tsubasa, Sophie and Yu all turned to face Wales, who seemed less surprised compared to the rest of the crowd.

"I saw their name on the list online," Wales explained, adjusting the collar of his blue shirt. He frowned faintly. "The members registered with code names."

"So they're not using their real names?" Yu asked, eyes wide with confusion.

Wales shook his head. "No. And from what I've heard, they wear hooded cloaks to conceal their identity."

Tsubasa narrowed his eyes. "Why would the organizers allow a suspicious group to enter the tournament?"

Wales shrugged. "I have no clue."

"We saw them," a clear voice spoke.

"Dashan," Tsubasa said as Dashan and the rest of Team Wang Hu Zhong approached them. Dashan's olive eyes were dead serious.

"They are a powerful group of bladers," Dashan explained, "and they blew all those prototype beys away with one element in common."

Dashan closed his eyes.

"Darkness."

Yu, Tsubasa, Wales, Sophie and surrounding eavesdroppers gasped.

"So do you think-" Wales started.

"Yes," Dashan replied without waiting for Wales to finish. "Team Kage is Hayoto's group."

"But we don't have enough evidence to back up that theory and get the organizers to disqualify that team from the tournament," Chao Xin joined in, sighing in annoyance.

"But Chi-yun and the others will get to the bottom of this," Chi-yun assured.

"Let's all just be on our gauge, okay?" Mei-Mei advised.

Chao Xin slapped his forehead. "It's 'guard', Mei-Mei!"

"But that's what I said!"

"Point taken," Wales said, nodding in agreement.

For a moment, Tsubasa noticed that Dashan's eyes lingered on Wales, and concern was evident in them. But Dashan's face reverted to simply being serious as he nodded.

Looking down at his captain band, Tsubasa resolved to guide his team all the way.

Sophie

"That was a job well done, everyone."

"Thank you, Konzern."

Initially, the participating teams were divided into a total of five Beyblade arenas for the elimination round. Now everyone were gathered in the main arena and Sophie and the rest of Team Aozora met up with Julian, who had been watching the battles with his butler.

"Now we're back to the exact same format as in the Beyblade World Championship," Julian said. "The members battle first, followed by the leader. But you can disregard that order too, depending on the situation in hand."

Julian gave them a determined smile.

"I wish you all the best. You can defeat them all. Give your battles all that you have."

"Yes!" all four of them responded with fire.

Sophie felt a hand squeeze her shoulder gently and saw Wales smiling gently at her. Sophie's heart skipped a beat and she remembered Yu's words: _Do you love Wally?_ Sophie was sure that she and Wales were simply best friends, but a part of her was in doubt. She smiled back at Wales as they proceeded to walk down to where the other 15 remaining teams were gathered.

_Maybe... but right now, I have to remain focused._

Wales's hand delicately let go of her shoulder and took hold of her hand. Trying to conceal a blush, Sophie looked away, but not before she noticed that her best friend was blushing too.

_We will win our battles... together._

Yu Tendo

**ROUND 1:**   
**Team Wang Hu Zhong VS Team Sniper**

"Lacerta: Tempestuous Whirlwind Sword!"

Chi-yun's Lacerta collided heavily against Ryutaro's Pisces, and an explosion boomed in the grand stadium. Yu and his teammates coughed, as well as the rest of the audience. When the dust cleared, it was revealed that Lacerta was the only bey left standing.

** MATCHES **   
**1) Chao Xin VS Dan**   
**Victor: Chao Xin**   
**2) Chi-yun VS Ryutaro**   
**Victor: Chi-yun**   
**CONCLUSION**   
**SCORE: 2-0**   
**VICTOR: TEAM WANG HU ZHONG**

**ROUND 1:**   
**Team Sekai VS Team Lavshuka**

"Kenchi, Yuki, you can do it!" Yu shouted out from where he was sitting between Tsubasa and Wales.

"Sagittario: Diving Arrow!" Kenta yelled.

"Anubius: Brave Impact!" Yuki yelled.

As Yu predicted, both special moves were more than enough to overpower Nowaguma and Lyra's beys. The combination broke through the forcefield of shockwaves and struck the opponents' beys squarely on the fusion wheels.

And that was the last move needed.

** MATCHES **   
**1) Chris VS Aleksei**   
**Victor: Chris**   
**2) Gingka VS Helios**   
**Victor: -**   
**3) Kenta-Yuki VS Nowaguma-Lyra**   
**Victors: Kenta and Yuki**   
**CONCLUSION**   
**SCORE: 2-0**   
**VICTOR: TEAM SEKAI**

**ROUND 1:**   
**Team Aozora VS Team Keita**

"You can win this, Yu!" Wales yelled from behind, his voice blazing with confidence and determination. "We all know that!"

"Wales is right," Tsubasa agreed. "Do it now, Yu!"

"Yu!" Sophie and Julian, who stood with the group, shouted out.

Yu looked over his shoulder and nodded, a steely resolve seared in his heart. Clenching his fists, he felt his aura shroud him and delivered an assertive command.

"Libra, time for a new special move!"

Libra's green aura shone before Yu's eyes.

"Libra, Photon Pandemonium!"

Orbs of eerie green light illuminated and surrounded the stadium. Yu unclenched his fists and yelled, "We won't lose this!" and as though it was answering to its owner's emotions, Libra's strengh surged to a new level and the photon orbs all dove down towards Marcus's bey.

"Go now!" Yu shouted. "Libra!"

The green light flashed brightly and blinded everyone's eyes.

"Yu!" Yu heard Tsubasa, Wales and Sophie all call out to him.

Yu smiled. _Guys..._

When Yu's vision cleared, his smile grew brighter.

**MATCHES**   
**1) Wales-Sophie VS Tobias-Hyuga**   
**Victors: Wales-Sophie**   
**2) Yu VS Marcus**   
**Victor: Yu**   
**CONCLUSION**   
**SCORE: 2-0**   
**VICTOR: TEAM AOZORA**

**O** **THER TEAMS THAT MADE IT TO** **ROUND 2**  
 **TEAM YŪGURE**  
 **TEAM WILD FANG**  
 **TEAM MASAYUME**  
 **TEAM** **AKEBONO**  
 **TEAM KAGE**

"So Team Kage is not showing its full power just yet?"

"No," Julian replied Wales, narrowing his eyes slightly. "If they are really Hayoto's team, I believe that they are avoiding being under the radar."

"I agree," Dashan spoke, crossing his arms.

Round 2 would take place the following day. Team Wang Hu Zhong, Team Aozora and Julian were all gathered in a local park, discussing the events of today. Yu nibbled his strawberry ice-cream cone as he listened to the others speak.

"So who is going up against Team Kage tomorrow?" asked Mei-Mei.

"Team Yūgure," Sophie answered. "Dynamis, Tithi, Aguma and Bao."

"It seems that tomorrow is gonna be a blast," Chao Xin remarked.

"Yeah!" Yu agreed enthusiastically, smiling.

Wales, Tsubasa and the others smiled too. Yu's team was up against Masamune's team while Dashan's team would be clashing against Gingka's team, and Kyoya's team would be battling Hyoma's team.

The tournament was just getting heated up.

Dashan Wang

Dashan stayed behind with Julian while Yu and everyone else went off to have friendly battles in the park's stadiums, with Tsubasa deciding to watch. Yu and Mei-Mei. Wales and Chao Xin. Chi-yun and Sophie.

"So his teammates still do not know about this?"

Julian shook his head. "No. The last thing that Wales wants is to drag his friends into his worst problems."

Dashan cracked a smile. "So he's more selfless than he lets on."

Julian smiled slightly as Wales fought against Chao Xin. "Yes." His smile faded, though. "But they will find out too soon."

Dashan frowned. "The past does not seem to have mercy on him, does it?"

Julian scowled faintly. "And he does not deserve to be held prisoner by all this."

"Fate can be cruel."

"Unjustifyingly cruel."

"But I do not think we need to worry too much, my friend." Dashan offered some assurance. "He has remained strong all this time and I highly doubt that his will to protect his friends will ever waver."

Julian nodded briefly and Dashan understood his concern.

"We both know the problem, don't we?"

Julian nodded. "Frankly, yes."

His blue eyes stared right at Wales's back.

"He might struggle in protecting _himself_."


	18. Bizarre

Wales

**ROUND 2 MATCHES**   
**1) Team Sekai VS Team Wang Hu Zhong**   
**2) Team Aozora VS Team Masayume**   
**3)** **Team Kage VS Team Yūgure**   
**4) Team Wild Fang VS Team** **Akebono**

For the second night in a row, Wales stepped out of Tsubasa's house to go and train on his own in the same local park. But this time, instead of heading towards the Beyblade stadium immediately, he took a seat on a long mahogany bench and looked up at the sky. The unreachable surface above him was a majestic Prussian blue, adorned by white twinkles. Pale moonlight filtered through the verdant leaves of the towering trees and an owl's hoot could be faintly heard. Wales's lips slanted into a gentle smile as he reveled in the mysterious beauty of the night.

"We may have won today," Wales mumbled under his breath, "but tomorrow is not going to be as easy."

Masamune, Toby, Zeo and King were all exceptional bladers. Wales closed his eyes, trying to let the air's serenity cloud his anxious, beating heart. Yes, he was worried about his opponents, but it was more than that. The desire to win was incredibly powerful. He did not just want to win. He also felt like he _**needed**_ to. His instincts told him so, as well as an ominous feeling that had lodged itself into his heart. He was sure that Hayoto was lurking in the tournament, ready to strike anytime. And it was not just him. His past was right around the corner, waiting for the perfect moment to ambush him.

Wales inhaled and stood up from the bench, his hand clutching his launcher.

And he had to be well-armed when that moment arrived.

"So you're sneaking out again, Wales."

Wales froze at the half-amused-half-thoughtful voice. He spun around and found Tsubasa approaching him with unhurried steps, the latter's lips curved into an amused smile.

"You knew?" Wales asked the obvious.

Tsubasa shrugged. "Yeah, I guess my former occupation as a double agent paid off."

Wales was puzzled. "You were a double agent, Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa smiled. "Yeah. WBBA business."

Wales found himself smiling back.

"Why do you head out here on your own at this time, Wales? You need to rest."

Wales's smile vanished. "I need to become stronger."

Tsubasa nodded as if he understood. "It's not just about the tournament, is it?"

"No," Wales said frankly, averting his eyes.

"So let's train."

"Huh?" Wales stared at Tsubasa, who was walking towards the other side of the stadium.

Tsubasa laughed a bit. "Why are you surprised?"

"Erm..." Wales rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I just thought that the interrogation would last longer."

"I'm not interrogating you," Tsubasa said, laughing again. "I understand, Wales. And I will not press you for answers. Besides," he stopped walking and smiled genuinely, "you promised Yu, right?"

Wales nodded with a smile, his heart more relaxed now. "Yeah. And I intend to keep that promise."

Tsubasa nodded as Wales attached his bey to his launcher.

"You're not the same English blader I met in the Beyblade World Championship."

"Huh?" Wales stared at Tsubasa questioningly.

But Tsubasa simply smiled. "Maybe you're not the only one with personal secrets."

Wales smirked. "Fair enough."

Dashan Wang

"Hm..."

Out of a corner of his eye, Dashan noticed a member of Team Kage, who wore a grey hood like the rest of them, staring fixatedly at something. Dashan had just exited the men's restroom and was searching for his teammates when he saw the suspicious contestant. Discreetly, Dashan followed the hooded figure's gaze and frowned.

_Apparently, the enemy refuses to leave this team alone, do they?_

Wales, Sophie, Yu and Tsubasa were amidst the crowd, chattering and laughing about something. Yu was the first to spot Dashan and waved cheerfully. Dashan smiled and started to walk towards them, but not before glancing back at the hooded figure.

Astonishment was catapulted against Dashan's heart.

He was gone.

Dashan, however, maintained a deadpan expression when Team Aozora reaches him. He motioned the group closer and whispered.

"A member of Team Kage was spying on you."

Yu's eyes widened, but he quickly recovered. Sophie's face became worried while Tsubasa and Wales narrowed their eyes.

"Be careful at all times," Dashan continued.

He looked into Wales's eyes and with his own eyes, added, _Especially you._

Wales seemed to understand what Dashan meant since his blue eye widened and he nodded briefly. After exchanging polite greetings, Dashan walked away from Tsubasa's group to search for his own team.

_When I accepted Julian's request, I did not think that I'd end up being this protective over Wales._

Dashan chuckled under his breath.

_How wrong I was._

_Please watch out for Wales_ , the blond leader of Excalibur had told Dashan. _Although I know that you did the entire time they were in Beijing._

Dashan's lips curled into an amused smile.

_And how right you are._

Tsubasa Otori

**ROUND 2:**   
**Team Sekai VS Team Wang Hu Zhong**

"What's the deal with the sudden rule?" Yu asked, injustice flashing in his eyes.

"The timing is bizarre," Wales agreed, frowning.

"It will change the flow of the match, but we'll have to deal with it," Tsubasa said, shaking his head.

"Hm..." Sophie did not seem to like it either. Neither did Julian.

Or anyone from Team Sekai and Team Wang Hu Zhong.

Tsubasa carefully analysed the situation as Gingka and Chi-yun clashed against each other. Before the two teams started battling, Blader DJ made a sudden announcement: there was a new rule.

The bladers battling each other would be determined by a random shuffle.

Even Blader DJ himself looked genuinely puzzled by the change in rules. Gingka and Dashan had looked forward to battling each other, so the news clearly disappointed them. So far, the matching had been entirely different than what would it have been if not for this rule:

**1) Kenta VS Dashan**   
**2) Yuki-Chris VS Mei-Mei-Chao Xin**   
**3) Gingka VS Chi-yun**

The most logical scenario was to place the strongest bladers of each team head-to-head against each other. But the case was anything but that. So far, Dashan had claimed a point, while Yuki and Chris evened up the score. Now a frustrated Chi-yun was struggling against Gingka, who was about to deliver a finishing blow.

"Do you think this whole thing is rigged?"

The group all turned to face Yu, who was stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"I mean, it's not like the WBBA to let suspicious people enter the tournament, right? Like those really creepy dudes who won't even show their identity."

Tsubasa nodded. "Yu may be right."

"So what should we do?" Sophie asked.

"We act as normal," Julian simply replied, "and never let our guard down."

Tsubasa then saw Julian's gaze linger on Wales, exactly like Dashan's did. And whatever that meant, Wales nodded briefly, understanding what Tsubasa did not seem to.

Well, privacy was privacy, as bizzare as it could be.

Yu Tendo

Gingka defeated Chi-yun with ease. In fact, the battle was hardly long at all. Yu's heart sank when a dejected Chi-yun trudged towards his group. Dashan smiled assuringly at Chi-yun, although it was clear that the leader himself was not happy with how this match was set up. Yu was not glad either; it was unfair. So unfair.

"Now here are the matches for Team Aozora and Team Masayume!"

Yu and his group all looked up at the enormous screen, where the shuffle was taking place. The audience all held their breath in anticipation.

**1) Wales VS Masamune**

"The leaders are not clashing against each other _**again**_?" Yu spouted out in disbelief.

**2) Tsubasa-Sophie VS Zeo-King**

"And the pairs are completely random!" Wales pointed out.

**3) Yu VS Toby**

"Everyone knows that this is not an ideal matchup," Julian remarked as groans, complaints and protests resounded from every direction.

"Agreed," Wales said, shaking his head.

As the five of them made it down to where the battle was going to take place, they ran into Masamune's team, Team Masayume.

"Masamoomoo!" Yu exclaimed.

"This whole thing stinks!" Masamune protested, his eyes burning with indignance. "I wanted to battle Tsubasa!"

"We know," Tsubasa said calmly. "But let's just do our best, okay?"

"Yeah, while I beat all of you!" Masamune declared with a cocky smirk.

Wales sighed. "I think your ego surpasses mine. And that is saying quite much."

"Hear that, Masamune?" King goaded.

"Shut up!" Masamune groaned.

Everyone laughed as King and Masamune started to bicker, but Yu soon felt his best friend and leader tense. "Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa smiled gently at Yu while shaking his head slightly. "It's nothing, Yu."

"Are you sure?" Yu asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Yeah," Tsubasa said. He then turned to Masamune's team and reached for Yu's arm. "Well, we look forward to battling you guys."

Masamune grinned. "You bet we feel the same!"

"We'll go on ahead now. See you in a few minutes."

"What-"

Yu stared at Tsubasa in confusion. "Tsubasa...?"

"Yeah, we need some private team discussion," Wales joined in, patting Tsubasa on the back. "And we wouldn't want any unnecessary interruptions."

King laughed at Masamune's odd look. "He means you, silly!"

"No, he means you!"

Tsubasa smiled slightly at Wales and pulled Yu with him as the former, Sophie and Julian all followed. But when they made to their side of the Beyblading area, Wales cut to the chase.

"You sensed something, didn't you, Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa Otori

"What?"

"But that's..."

"They all seemed perfectly normal!"

"I know," Tsubasa agreed, slightly concerned. "But there is no doubt about it. Although it came as quickly as it left."

When his group and Masamune's group were communicating with each other, Tsubasa had felt a sharp pang pierce through his heart. It was the signal of the presence of the dark power, and Tsubasa sensed it coming from someone from Masamune's team. But the dark power was like a switch that was hastily flicked on then off, which was extremely bizzare. Usually, the dark power was sensed for a far longer period of time, so how could it just be shut off like that? Or was whoever was controling the dark power could treat it like an off and on switch?

"I believe Tsubasa," Julian spoke up, his eyes narrowed. "And this situation is truly strange. So when you battle these guys, just bear in mind that one of them has the dark power."

Julian shifted his serious gaze to Wales.

"You're first. Do not just fight your way to victory. Be sure to guard yourself too, understand?"

Wales's eye widened slightly, but he nodded with a resolute expression. "Understood."

"And we'll intervene if we have to," Sophie assured, placing a hand on Wales's arm. "Just like when we battled Starbreaker."

"Oh! I heard about that!" Yu chimed in, beaming. "That was really cool!"

Wales frowned slightly. "You do know that we all lost horribly to Damian, right?"

"Yeah, but what matters is that you had each other's backs!" Yu said, his smile brightening. "And that itself is just really cool and brave, you know that?"

Wales, Sophie and Julian all stared at Yu and Tsubasa smiled at the sight. Yu sure could remind them a thing or two about what mattered more than shattered pride.

At last, they all smiled.

"Yeah," Wales nodded with a sincere smile, "and I heard about what he did to you and Tsubasa. Sorry about that."

"Aww, it's not your fault!" Yu exclaimed. "But aren't you gonna tell me that you and Sophie saw us at the hospital?"

Wales's eye widened. "W-Where did you get that?"

"Oh, the doctor told us. And an awkward boy with only one eye could only mean you, right?"

"I am not awkward, kid!"

"I am not a kid!"

Tsubasa and his friends laughed, but then his smile faded when he saw Masamune's group head towards the opposite side of the area. It dawned upon him that one of them could have been injected with the dark power by Hayoto, based on the latter's twisted words.

But the question was this: Who was it?


	19. Drowning

Wales

"And the first match of the Masayume VS Aozora battle is about to start. Representing Masayume is their leader, Masayume Kadoya. And his opponent shall be Cetus blader Wales. Will the leader claim victory for his team? Or will he be overwhelmed by his opponent's powerful defenses?"

Masamune scoffed at Blader DJ's announcement.

"If Tsubasa can beat you, then beating you will be a piece of cake!" Masamune remarked, a cocky grin plastered on his face.

On the other side of the stadium, Wales narrowed his eyes and smirked.

"You shouldn't underestimate anyone in my team, including Tsubasa and myself." Wales gripped his launcher tightly, his bey firmly attached. "And that ego is not something to be proud of."

"Oh, just like yours?"

Wales looked into Masamune's eyes with a fiery resolve. "I'll prove to you that I am not the same cocky blader from before."

"Huh."

"Don't listen to Masamoomoo, Wally!"

Wales turned his head to face Yu, who was standing with Sophie, Julian and Tsubasa and leaning over the railing.

"We know that you can do this!"

"He's right," Sophie agreed, smiling encouragingly. "We're all with you, Wales."

Tsubasa and Julian all smiled and nodded at him. Wales nodded at his friends and his lips slanted into a genuine smile for a brief second. _I've been smiling more ever since this team was formed._

With his friends' confidence and words fueling his heart and soul, Wales turned back to face Masamune and tightened his grip on his launcher.

_Not that I ever minded._

"Let's begin!" Blader DJ shouted. "3!"

"2!" the spectators and fellow bladers joined in.

"1!" Wales could faintly hear his friends from behind. Inwardly, he smiled.

"Go shoot!" Wales and Masamune shouted, and pulled the launcher with sheer force.

The beys soared directly towards each other and collided with a resonant clang.

An explosion was automatically triggered.

Dashan Wang

"Who do think is gonna win?"

"Masamune," Chi-yun replied bluntly.

Chao-Xin's face was filled with astonishment. "Really? I'd place my money on Wales!"

"I agree with Chao Xin," Mei-Mei remarked.

Chao-Xin looked even more shocked. "Really?"

"Hey!"

Dashan folded his arms, scrutinizing the match carefully. Masamune and Wales's strengths were exact opposites: attack and defense, respectively. He was certain that both bladers had improved overtime, so this match could go either way. Although he was secretly supporting Wales's team, whom Dashan had bonded with more than he did with Team Masayume.

And Dashan generally did not like people who bragged all day long.

"Hey, Dashan. Look over there."

Dashan followed Chi-yun's gaze and his eyes widened ever so slightly. The four members of Team Kage all rose from their seats at the same time and dispersed in 4 different directions: down the stairs towards where Masamune and Wales were clashing, to the top-left exit, to the top-right exit, to the main exit. Dashan faced all his teammates and they all wordlessly nodded at each other and split up. Dashan sprinted down the stairs while Mei-Mei, Chao Xin and Chi-yun ran up.

_What are they planning?_

Dashan chased the hooded figure that was nearing the stadium and suddenly, the figure, as though he had suspected Dashan's motives, started to dash.

"Don't move!"

Dashan picked up his pace and sprinted after the hooded figure. Now he was more certain that Team Kage was Hayoto's team. Dashan glanced down at Wales and his team and mumbled a prayer for them.

_I need to protect them._

Wales

"Circle around near the edge, Blue Cetus!"

"Ha! Now I'll end the match with a stadium out!"

Wales, however, remained unfazed as Blue Cetus traced a perfect arc around the wide stadium and Blitz Striker zoomed towards it.

"Get away from there, Wales!" Tsubasa cried out.

"It'll be fine, Tsubasa," Yu assured.

"He's right," Sophie agreed. "Wales will not risk anything without a plan."

Wales's lips quirked up into a faint smile at his friends' emotions towards him. _I appreciate your concern, Tsubasa,_

_but..._

"Now, Cetus!"

Blue Cetus swiftly dodged Striker and in a flash, Blue Cetus struck Striker and sent its foe recoiling backwards.

"Huh?" Masamune exclaimed.

"I did not just sit around and wallow on my losses after the Beyblade World Championship, you know," Wales pointed out, smirking with satisfaction.

Masamune grinned. "And neither did I!"

Striker recovered and charged towards Cetus once again. Wales nodded and the two beys collided heavily.

"You can do it, Wally/Wales!" Yu and Sophie shouted at the same time.

"Hit him hard, Masamune!" Toby and Zeo yelled.

The two beys danced around the stadium while hitting and clashing against each other repeatedly, earning a symphony of cheers and yells from the audience. The battle had just started heating up. Wales glanced up at Masamune, and his heart froze.

_Masamune?_

Masamune's eyes were focused on Striker, but his gaze seemed so faraway, like he was not even present. His body was still and not a single annoying outburst or syllable slipped out of his mouth. The air suddenly tensed like he and Masamune were suddenly standing on a tightrope metres above an ocean of jagged thorns, and Wales could feel a shudder slide down his spine.

_What is-_

"Wales, he's-"

But before Tsubasa finished, Masamune shrieked and unleashed a dark emerald and black aura.

Wales's eyes widened in terror. "Cetus, Grand Armor!"

Cetus immediately conjured up a translucent, cobalt barricade that shielded itself and Wales from the burst of evil aura, which relentlessly tried to penetrate through the defence. Wales gritted his teeth as he struggled to keep the barricade alive.

"Wales!" Sophie screamed.

"Wally!" Yu cried out.

"Blue Cetus!" Wales shouted in sheer agony and worry. "Don't give up!"

Masamune's sharp eyes focused on Wales and glinted with malice and scorn. Wales glared.

"Give Masamune his body back!" Wales shouted, his blood boiling.

Masamune, however, simply smirked. "Or am I the real Masamune?"

"You're not, so buzz off!" Wales countered.

"But I am him and he is me-"

"Enough with the nonsense!"

"Nonsense?" Masamune furrowed his brow at Tsubasa. "Why would you think that when the biggest nonsense lies within you?"

Wales shook his head in confusion and shock. "What are you-"

Masamune smirked. "Did you really think the history of your hidden eye has been forgotten?"

Wales's eyes widened. "How-"

"Now, Striker!"

Striker shattered Cetus's barrier and delivered a destructive blow, triggering a black explosion, causing Wales to be thrown off his feet.

"Wales!"

"Wally!"

Wales could hear Yu, Sophie, Tsubasa, Julian and even Gingka, Kenta, Yuki and others shout out to him as he crashed onto the ground like a meteorite.

"Ugh..."

Footsteps fell heavily and rapidly behind him as he forced his body up the ground, but soon, his surroundings transformed around him.

"Wales!" Sophie cried out.

"Soph... ie..."

Wales tried to return her call, but his voice was getting fainter with each passing moment. He was submerging deeper and deeper, and along with his own voice and body, he drowned.

Yu Tendo

"Get a grip, Masamune!"

Yu could hear Zeo shriek at Masamune as he, Sophie, Julian and Tsubasa all rushed towards Wales, who had been engulfed by a surge of jet-black aura. Yu tried to make contact with Wales by reaching for black aura, but automatically, a force threw him off-balance and he was tossed backwards.

"Yu!"

"Sophie!"

Yu gritted his teeth and pulled himself up, but his eyes widened when he found Sophie being thrown into the air the same way he had been. Unwilling to give up, Yu clenched his fists and ran towards Wales again.

"Stop it, Sophie, Yu!"

Julian's sharp command did not stop Yu or Sophie. It was only when Tsubasa and Julian grabbed Yu and Sophie respectively when they stopped trying.

"Let go of me, Tsubasa!" Yu exclaimed, flailing around. "Let go!"

"Sorry, Yu." Tsubasa gave him an apologetic smile. "But I can't let you keep hurting yourself like this."

Yu looked down. "But Wally..."

"We'll reach Wales. But now we need to focus on the source."

"The... source..."

Yu slowly turned to Masamune, who was being yelled at by Zeo, Toby and King. Zeo lunged at Masamune, but the latter simply slammed his foot against his teammate's gut, knocking him to the ground. Toby soon found himself in Zeo's place when he tried to talk sense into Masamune.

"Toby! Zeo!" Tsubasa yelled.

"Enough with this, Masamune!"

King clenched his teeth and swung his fist towards Masamune's cheek. Masamune, however, sneered and sent a flood of darkness straight towards King.

"King!"

Yu launched his Luminous Libra and triggered his special move, Final Inferno Blast, causing an eerie green inferno to shield King and counter against the darkness.

"Let's go, Libra!"

The darkness pulled away, but Masamune simply changed his course of attack and sent the deadly aura surging towards Sophie.

"Sophie!" Tsubasa and Yu yelled.

Sophie immediately launched White Cetus and a burst of light blue and pitch black light erupted.

The audience screamed hysterically and footsteps poured down like rain.

Dashan Wang

"Who are you? And what are you doing causing this madness?"

The figure had stopped running, its back facing Dashan, who stared strenly. They had ran all the way to the basement of the arena. Dashan could hear the chaos that had swallowed the arena and noticed Masamune's change when he was pursuing the hooded person. And if his judgement was right, Team Kage was behind all the mayhem.

The hooded figure faced Dashan and underneath the hood, eyes flared with an ominous indigo light.

Dashan clenched his teeth. "Hayoto."

"How did you ever guess?"

Dashan prepared his launcher, but he suddenly jumped to one side, narrowly evading the path of a burst of jet-black. Shock and anger gushed through his blood as he spun around to face Hayoto. But this time, Hayoto was not alone.

A man had stepped out of the shadows and had a precarious black bey spinning on the ground between them. His hair was brown with streaks of grey and his black eyes were filled with malevolence and malice. He stood next to Hayoto and patted the boy's back before facing Dashan. Dashan gritted his teeth, knowing precisely who it was.

_I have to warn Julian and Wales._

Sophie

"Guys! Are you all alright?"

"What happened to Wales?"

"Tsubasa! Guys! Have you seen Dashan?"

Sophie glanced around at everyone who were sprinting towards her, Julian, Wales, Yu and Tsubasa. Gingka, Chao Xin, Chi-yun, Yuki, Kenta, Nile and others were rushing, worried looks all over their faces.

"Slow down," Tsubasa tried to calm everyone down, "we'll go over this one at a time."

Tsubasa looked at Chao Xin first. "Dashan is missing?"

"Yeah," Chao Xin answered. "The four of us were going after Team Kage and the three of us lost sight of them. But when we tried to call Dashan, he never picked up."

Sophie's heart raced. _Dashan..._

"We need to go look for him!" Kenta cried.

"We will, but there is a lot to do," Julian said calmly. "Sophie, Yu and Tsubasa will stay here to try and help Wales. Chao Xin, Mei-Mei, Chi-yun, Gingka, Yuki, Kenta and Chris, I will go with you to look for Dashan. Everyone else, make sure that everyone else evacuates safely. Understand?"

"Yes!"

Nodding slightly, Sophie looked down at Wales, who was still trapped by darkness. She tried to not cry as she quietly prayed they could save him soon. That he was safe and sound.

_Please hang in there... Wales._

Wales

Wales sank, the blue waters getting darker and darker. Trying to keep his eyes open, Wales tilted his head up and saw the pristine surface of cerulean water becoming further and further away from him.

_Sophie... Julian... Yu... Tsubasa..._

He tried to extend an arm to the unreachable surface, his heartbeat loud even in the deep. But suddenly, he found himself touching his own blurred reflection. He could see that his bangs now floated above his face and no longer concealed his right eye. Wales grimaced at the sight of his damaged eye crystal-clear before him.

Suddenly, a force struck Wales on the chest.

_Drown into your despair... child._

Wales's heart thumped with fear, dread and horror. _You..._

But before he could complete the thought, his mind went black.


	20. Struggle

Wales

"U-Ugh..."

Slowly opening his eyes, Wales found himself lying down on a cold, flat surface. He pushed himself up into sitting position and clutched his head. He was at the bottom of the ocean. The world around him was a dark aquamarine and the ground was concrete grey. His ears soon detected a wobbling sound and he looked down, only to find his Blue Cetus bey barely spinning.

_Cetus..._

Wales bent down to collect his bey and it jumped into his palm. His lips curved into a small smile and he looked up at the white surface glistening far above him. He had to go back. He had to go back to where Sophie, Yu and the others were. To where all those that he cared about were. He tried to jump, but he would not float up into the air.

_But how?_

"How have you been, dear Wales?"

Wales gasped, a chill running down his spine at the sadistic voice that spoke to him. _Not you..._ Taking a deep breath, Wales turned around and his eyes widened.

"You can no longer keep me held in a cell."

Wales's stricken expression was met with a malicious smirk.

"Nephew."

Dashan Wang

"Soon, everyone will be engulfed in the nightmare of death, and that includes my dear, traitorous nephew."

"Wales is not a traitor. I see why he let you get locked up after what you've done to him, Julian and other people," Dashan countered, glaring evenly at the man. "You had better stop what you're doing."

"What kind of nephew locks his own uncle up in the slammer for 10 years?" Hayoto questioned. "That one-eyed kid is garbage for a-"

"He should have had a longer sentence," Dashan spoke frankly, remembering how angered he had been when Julian told him what Wales's uncle had done.

"He bailed for the next-"

"That does not matter," Dashan calmly interrupted, his gaze unwavering. "What matters now is that I will _**not**_ let tragedy repeat itself. I will not let you harm Wales and Julian again!"

Wales's uncle, Jason, smirked.

"Oh really?"

Jason then pointed at Dashan and the black bey zoomed towards the latter. Without hesitation, Dashan launched Zurafa.

"Zurafa!"

_I shall not lose this battle._

Julian Konzern

"Dashan! Can you hear us?"

The 8 people that were searching for Dashan had split into pairs. Julian partnered up with Chi-yun, who was frantically looking around for his best friend. They were walking briskly down the stairs to the basement, which had not been used for a long time. Yuki, Chao Xin and the others were still looking above ground.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Julian could hear the clang of metal against metal. _Are those... Beyblades?_

Julian and Chi-yun turned to each other and they knew that they were thinking the same thing.

Both of them ran in the direction of that sound.

Wales

"Buzz. Off."

Wales spoke in a soft, fierce mutter, trying not to let his fear break him down. His wicked uncle Jason, whom had been sentenced to years of prison, was standing before him, his lips twisted into a smirk that matched his black heart. Clenching his fists, Wales wished that he was not alone right now. That Yu, Sophie and the others were standing by his side at this very moment.

But they were not here.

Just then, an indigo aura shrouded Jason and he disappeared. Wales was shocked, puzzled and relieved at the same time.

_Was that... an illusion...?_

But the thought bubble was popped by the materializing of several hooded figures, all of them clad in black, grey or indigo, their beys all aimed at Wales. They all surrounded Wales in a wide circle, with him trapped in the centre.

His heart pulsating, Wales gritted his teeth. _That sicko..._

"Go shoot!"

Dashan Wang

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Dashan clenched his teeth in anger. Hayoto and Jason were tag-teaming against Dashan, and both were incredibly powerful opponents. When Dashan tried to attack one, Zurafa ended up being trapped in a pincer attack. Zurafa's defense was not easily penetrated, but at this rate, attacking would be a challenge.

"Feeling scared, kid?"

"May you repeat that?" Dashan asked, his words polite but his tone warning Jason.

"You are going to end up doomed like the others, so I suggest that you forfeit," Jason continued, his eyes smug and malicious.

_Wales is completely nothing like his uncle._

"I will never forfeit."

"You're even more ridiculous than I thought," Hayoto remarked, grinning darkly. "Malevolence!"

"Devilry!" Jason yelled.

Dashan clenched his teeth. "Solid Iron Wall: II!"

Zurafa's defense rose greatly, with a transulcent ying-yang shield protecting the bey too. Dashan remained calm, but deep down, he was not sure how effective the shield would be given the massive attack power of both of his opponents.

_Come on, Zurafa...!_

Wales

"Cetus!"

Wales yelled as Blue Cetus took yet another pincer attack and was soon knocked into the air. Wales had barely managed to defeat about 10 beys and there were still about 25 bladers to go. Taking a deep breath, Wales tried to calm his palpitating heart, his hand clutching his chest.

_I... cannot lose!_

Blue Cetus tried to activate Grand Armor, but it was interrupted by four opposing beys' dark auras, causing Wales and his bey to be thrown off the ground.

"Ugh!"

Yu Tendo

"Let's go, Libra!"

"White Cetus!"

"Eagle!"

Yu, Sophie and Tsubasa all sent their beys zooming towards the darkness that imprisoned Wales. Toby, Zeo and King had agreed to deal with Masamune, allowing Yu and the others to focus on bringing Wales back. Their beys all made contact with the dark aura at the same time, red and orange sparks shooting in every direction.

"Come on, Eagle!"

"We need to help Wally!"

"Wales needs help!"

The darkness soon repelled the beys with a vicious force, throwing all three bladers into thin air.

"Ahh!"

Yu crashed heavily on his back, Tsubasa and Sophie landing not too far away from him. Gritting his teeth, Yu forced himself up and ran towards Wales again. Sophie and Tsubasa did the same.

Swish!

Sharp, black gales sliced at their skin and Yu threw his arms in front of his face, trying to keep his eyes open. _We all... need to save Wally!_ Yu gritted his teeth and pushed himself forward, his bey struggling along with him.

"Use your special moves, guys!"

"If we do, we might end up hurting Wales, Zeo!" Sophie exclaimed, barely staying on foot. Zeo, Toby and King were struggling to free Masamune, who was on a dark rampage, his bey sending lasers of darkness shooting everywhere in the stadium.

"Take the risk! You guys are getting nowhere at this rate!" King shouted.

"But-"

"He'll at least come out alive! And that's what matters, right?"

"We can't just use special moves on a person!" Yu protested, shaking his head vigorously. "We'd already be on it if it meant that Wally would be fine!"

"He's right," Tsubasa agreed, his gaze calm and rational, "there has to be another way. Wales is trying his best there and we need to find the best method to help him out."

King groaned in exasperation. "So what are you gonna do?"

Just then, a surge of dark aura rose from that that held Wales prisoner and soared in the air like a rocket. The surge soon split into three and each burst towards a member of Team Aozora.

"Get out of the way!" Zeo yelled.

His heart pounding, Yu quickly took a massive leap and landed heavily on one shoulder, narrowly avoiding the attack. Tsubasa managed to dodge the attack too. But Yu soon heard a cry of surprise and agony.

Yu's eyes nearly bulged. "Sophie!"

Sophie collapsed on her back, her voice dying with each hurried step that Yu and Tsubasa took towards her. By the time the two boys reached her, Sophie was no longer moving.

"Wake up, Sophie!" Yu cried, shaking her on the shoulder as Tsubasa checked for her pulse. "Come on! We need to go save Wally together! You love him, right?"

When Sophie did not respond, Yu's fear and anguish only intensified.

"Sophie!"

Wales

Wales tumbled onto the ground, his body battered with bruises, scratches and wounds. The opponents suddenly seemed to be increasing in both magnitude and strength, overwhelming Wales in both number and strength.

_I can't... I can't... quit..._

With Blue Cetus's spin close to dying before his very eyes, Wales tried to use his elbows to haul hinself up, but his entire body throbbed and he found himself sinking back to the ground. It took every iota of Wales's limited, remaining strength to stay conscious, to keep his bey spinning.

His uncle's cruel smile flashed inside his head and he tried to erase the image as he struggled to pull himself together.

_How... am I going to go... back...?_


	21. Unite

Tsubasa Otori

"Sophie! Sophie!"

Yu tried to shake Sophie awake, his olive eyes wide with pure agony and worry. Tsubasa clenched his teeth in anger towards the darkness that had returned and hurt his friends. Sophie was going to be alright; he could feel her slow pulse on his hand when he felt her neck. But the darkness had to be stopped. It had to be, no matter what.

"Stop hurting Wally, Sophie and everyone else!"

Tsubasa's eyes widened slightly as Yu shouted and sprinted towards an imprisoned Wales along with Libra, a bright green aura cloaking the younger boy. Arrows of darkness tried to strike Yu, but he swiftly dodged all of them, his footsteps never slowing down.

_Your heart only gets more selfless as you grow... Yu._

Tsubasa smiled lightly before gently laying Sophie back onto the ground. He got up and started to join Yu.

Just then, an idea flashed inside the leader's head.

"We may not be able to attack the darkness keeping Wales captive," Tsubasa called out, "but we can strike the ones attacking us."

Yu looked at Tsubasa and realization dawned upon the younger boy. "So we can weaken the darkness with..."

"Yes, with our special moves."

"Alright!" Yu nodded with a determined smile. "Let's go, Tsubasa!"

Tsubasa nodded back. "Yeah!"

Black lasers were fired towards the two bladers.

"Libra, Photon Pandemonium!"

"Eagle, Shining Tornado Buster!"

Both special moves struck down the darkness's attempts to take them down, and Yu and Tsubasa nodded at each other.

_We'll do this for you both, Wales, Sophie._

Dashan Wang

_Come on, Zurafa...!_

Devilry was about to crash against Zurafa when a bey struck it from the air like a lightning bolt. Devilry was thrown back, but its spin did not decrease even the slightest bit.

Dashan's eyes widened slightly in astonishment.

"Dashan!"

Dashan looked over his shoulder and saw Julian and Chi-yun sprinting towards him, relief flooding their eyes. Dashan smiled slightly and looked down at Julian's bey, Destroyer, and Zurafa spinning side by side. Chi-yun launched his Lacerta and Dashan nodded at him with a light smile.

"Let's go, Dashan!"

"Yes."

Dashan turned to Julian and smiled genuinely.

"Thanks, Julian."

Julian nodded and gave him a real smile.

"No problem."

Julian Konzern

Inside, Julian could not help but smile at the irony of this event. Never did Julian envision the day when he and Dashan would be battling side by side as not only allies, but friends.

_"I am not like you!"_

_"You know nothing. You know absolutely nothing!"_

_"Even if you lose, you get back up and keep moving forward!"_

Julian vividly remembered their clashing in Hades City after he had cruelly defeated both Wales and Sophie. Dashan, along with Wales and Sophie, had saved him from falling deeper into evil back then. And now, Julian, along with Chi-yun, had come to help Dashan.

"Storm Surge!"

"Tempestuous Whirlwind Sword!"

"Black Excalibur!"

"So we meet again."

Julian scowled at the familiar, sinister voice.

"Julian."

"This time, I will fight you. And protect Wales from the likes of you!" Julian declared fiercely.

"We all will stop you," Dashan agreed with the same level of anger and confidence.

The special moves all made furious contact with Devilry and Malevolence. Dashan, Julian and Chi-yun all nodded at one another.

_Beautiful irony._

_What an odd yet rhythmic melody._

Sophie

Sophie was falling in slow-motion down a seemingly endless height. Slowly opening her eyes, she found herself facing a pitch-black background, no trace of light seen anywhere.

Then, she remembered the battle.

Chi-yun, Chao-Xin, Mei-Mei, Gingka, others...

A missing Dashan...

Julian...

Yu and Tsubasa...

and...

"Wales..." she whispered, trying to find a way out of this abyss. "Wales!"

She had to return to the battle, back to consciousness. She could not just stay here and do nothing. Not when Wales, Yu and the others all needed her. Taking a long breath, she looked up and reached. She shut her eyes and concentrated all her power, passion and heart into going back. Into unlocking the strength that she needed.

_"Stop hurting Wally, Sophie and everyone else!"_

_"We'll do this for you both, Wales, Sophie."_

_"Let's go, Dashan!"_

_"Do it now, Julian!"_

She could hear them. The four closest friends that she and Wales had in this battle. Yu, Tsubasa, Julian, Dashan. Suddenly, a harsh, white light blinded Sophie and she shut her eyes again. Her heart pounded in shock. Images started to flood her mind. Not just any images.

Images of her best friend.

A strange comfort veiled her heart.

And...

The truth somehow dawned upon her right there and then.

The boy... that she loved.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, her heart beating faster now that her feelings for Wales were this vivid. She wanted to be there for him. She wanted to save him. She wanted to do all that she could to bring him back. She discovered herself facing a weakened Wales.

Her heart wrenched at the sight.

He had suffered too much on his own, the bruises and lesions more than enough evidence of it. With tears welling up inside her eyes, Sophie extended her arm forward.

_I have... to reach him...!_

Her heart pulsated faster the closer she got, for some reason. In that moment, nothing mattered more than reaching Wales. Than offering him her strength. At last, Sophie managed to reach into the scene painted before her eyes and took ahold of Wales's hand.

The white light returned.

Wales

As Wales tried to prop himself up on his elbows, the water around him and the enemy bladers started to change colour. The midnight-blue colour began to fade away, only to be replaced by an eerie green. Wales's eyes widened at the familiarity of the colour.

_"You can do it, Wally! Don't give up!"_

_Yu..._

The green soon gave way to a radiant purple.

_"Don't let the darkness defeat you! You can win this!"_

_Tsubasa..._

The purple colour then darkened, but it did not feel sinister.

_"We are all fighting with you, Wales!"_

_Julian..._

And the light suddenly transformed into a brilliant yellow.

_"Keep going, Wales!"_

_Dashan..._

_Yu, Tsubasa, Julian, Dashan..._

A fire was ignited within his soul and Wales pulled himself up, not caring how many injuries were torturing him at this very moment. All the four colours flashed at the same time before all giving way to pure white, the colour of snow and innocence. An image of Sophie smiling kindly and warmly at him entered his head and immediately, his heart warmed at the thought of her being with him all the way.

_"I need to reach him...! I want to help you, Wales, no matter what it takes!"_

_Sophie..._

_"I... I love him..."_

Wales's eyes widened at the pure love, sincerity and care in his best friend's voice. _Sophie..._

A tear fell from Wales's only working eye and landed on his palm. Throughout the battle, he had forgotten that he was not fighting on his own. That there were friends that had been right beside him the whole time. That the person had been his closest friend cared this much.

And he noticed what a blind fool he was to not realize her feelings... and his.

_I am..._

He clenched his fists, the fire burning brighter.

"I am... not alone!"

That was when a different colour emerged. A coruscating, everlasting colour. And the entire scenery transformed.

Yu Tendo

"Look, Yu!"

"Whoa!"

Accompanying Yu's green aura were two more colours. A deep, powerful cerulean and a pure, prismatic white. The newly seen auras originated from Wales and Sophie, whom Yu were extremely excited and happy for. The blue light started to clash against the darkness and Yu and Tsubasa watched in awe as Sophie's white aura united with Wales's blue one.

"Masamune!" Yu heard Zeo and Toby cry out.

Yu spun around and saw Masamune clutching his head, shrieking and groaning in agony. _Masamoomoo..._ Yu thought, looking down in sorrow. Masamune soon slumped forward and his eyes fell shut, his body unmoving. Toby, Zeo and King all rushed to his aid.

Boom!

Before Yu could think of checking on Masamune, the sound of an explosion erupted in his ears. Yu turned and his eyes widened in sheer joy and relief, tears filling his emerald eyes. The darkness had dissipated, revealing an unconscious Wales lying face-down on the ground.

"Wally!"

"Wales!"

Yu and Tsubasa all ran towards Wales, who let out a soft groan. They turned his body around as he slowly opened his eye, his face contorted into an agonized expression. He rubbed his head and faced Yu first. The sight of Wales finally free from the darkness was enough to let the tears fall from Yu's face.

"Wally!"

Yu threw his arms around Wales, unable to stop smiling as he cried.

"Yu... Tsubasa..."

Wales's voice was soft but filled with relief as he returned the hug, ruffling Yu's hair.

"Where are... Dashan... Julian... So-"

"Wales...?"

Sophie

Sophie found herself back in the Beyblade arena, the chasm no longer in sight. Puzzled, she looked around until her eyes fell upon Wales, Yu and Tsubasa.

"Wales...?" she called in a near whisper.

Wales slowly pulled away from Yu's hug and his eye was wide open. A flash of emotions crossed Wales's face and much to Sophie's surprise, a tear dropped from his eye.

"Sophie..."

Wales slowly rose to his feet and stepped towards Sophie, his eye focused on her. More tears fell from his eye as he broke into a sprint, his breathing rushed. Sophie's heart stumbled as she realized that she was crying as well.

"Sophie!"

In a blur of a moment, Wales had pulled Sophie into a tight embrace, his tears drenching her shoulder.

"Wales... Wales..."

Closing her eyes, Sophie buried her face into Wales's chest, reveling in his warmth, wrapping her arms around his back.

"I'm so glad you and the others fought for me..." Wales muttered, his breath hitting her ear. "I'm so glad, Sophie..."

"Wales..." She somehow kept on repeating his name, like he would disappear back into the darkness if she didn't.

"Thank you." His embrace tightened.

"Always..." She meant it.

"Can I speak to you after we handle everything here? In private?"

"Of course, Wales. Of course."

"Thank you."

Sophie and Wales then pulled away from each other, unshed tears in their eyes. Yu cheered for the both of them and Tsubasa folded his arms with a sincere smile. Sophie and Wales all smiled.

"Where are our beys?" Wales suddenly asked.

"They are..." Yu glanced around and pointed, "right there-Wah!"

Wales, Tsubasa and Sophie all followed Yu's finger and immediately, they all shared the younger boy's sheer surprise.

"Cetus...?" Wales and Sophie both said.

Both Blue and White Cetus laid on the ground near where Wales had laid, but both beys seemed different. Sophie let out a soft gasp. Like Yu's Libra, both Cetus beys had evolved. Their face bolts were now translucent, almost shining, albeit the same colours as before. Blue Cetus's energy ring was now a bold, lustrous cerulean and its fusion wheel was slightly wider and thicker, and an almost see-through sky-blue, similar to the colour of Yu's Libra's fusion wheel. Its spin track was white like crystalline snowflakes while the performance tip was as blue as Wales's eye. White Cetus's energy ring was a prismatic white and its fusion wheel was exactly like that of Blue Cetus. Its spin track was blue like the ocean and the performance tip was olive like Sophie's eyes.

"Cascade Cetus," Wales and Sophie uttered at the same time.

They picked their beys up and looked at each other. Their Cetus beys were once again dissimilar twins, and Sophie took it as a representation of the close bond that they had had ever since they were children. Looking into Wales's eye, she wondered if he felt the same way. If he felt that them being given twin beys was an insignia of the bond that they would build over the years. That this was a miracle created by fate. Wales gave her a sincere smile and took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. Sophie's heart sang.

"I like how our beys resemble, each other's."

Sophie's eyes widened. "Me too."

"I'm glad."

Wales

"Wales! Sophie! Yu! Tsubasa!"

"Julian! Dashan! Chi-yun!" Wales exclaimed as he, Yu and the others spun around and saw the three bladers dashing towards them.

"Are you guys okay?" Yu asked, worried.

Dashan smiled slightly, but his face soon turned grim. "We're good. Wales's uncle and Hayoto fled once they realized that Wales has broken free from the darkness."

Blood drained from Wales's usually-confident face. "My... uncle... was here?"

"Yes," Julian confirmed, his expression serious but apologetic. "And he is still as senseless and cruel as always."

Wales glanced around, silently hoping that those monsters had truly disappeared.

"Wales's... uncle?" Yu repeated, tilting his head in confusion.

Sophie and Tsubasa seemed just as confused. Feeling his heart throb, Wales forced a smile.

"I'll tell you guys everything once we get back."

Wales looked down at Yu.

"That was the promise, right?"

Yu nodded. "But... you seem so hurt, Wally..."

"It's fine." Wales ruffled Yu's hair. "I promised and I intend to keep that promise. Besides..."

Wales lowered his eyes.

"Now... is the crucial time."

Kenta Yumiya

"What? We can't join you guys?"

"Wales is already uncomfortable enough telling his closest friends about this matter," Julian said, shaking his head at Gingka. "A larger crowd will only hinder him."

"You guys can help take care of Masamune," Tsubasa suggested. "Zeo, Toby and King are bringing him to the hospital."

"Let's go, Gingka!" Kenta chirped.

"Yeah, alright..." Gingka agreed, walking away from Julian's group with Kenta, Yuki and Chris.

Walking beside Gingka, Kenta glanced over his shoulder at Yu and Tsubasa, who appeared to have gotten very close to Wales, Sophie, Julian and Dashan. Kenta smiled. Some people just kinda clicked, huh?

"Who would have thought that Wales and Sophie would end up getting really friendly with Tsubasa and Yu?" Gingka remarked when Julian's group was out of earshot.

"Yeah," Kenta agreed. "It's just been less than a month, right?"

"Well, people are just closer to some than others, huh?" Chris chimed in.

"Yes, Mr Chris," Yuki agreed.

"You're still too formal!"

"Sorry!"

Wales

"Before I explain everything... I need to do this."

Everyone sat in the living room in Tsubasa's house. Wales sat between Sophie and Julian; Tsubasa and Yu sat together; Dashan sat on a small couch.

Trying to not hesitate, he gestured at the bangs covering his right eye.

"You need to see what is behind this hair."

Wales could feel everyone's eyes on him, their concern, worry and curiosity all focused on him. Julian nodded briefly and Sophie tried to smile encouragingly. Yu smiled assuringly; Dashan and Tsubasa nodded patiently.

_I need to show them the truth._

Before he could break his promise to Yu and run away, Wales curled his fingers around his long bangs...

and lifted them up.

Sophie

Sophie could see trepidation and concern cross Wales's face as the latter took ahold of his long bangs and proceeded to lift them up. Her heart ached for him.

_You don't have to be so scared, Wales... We won't judge you..._

The moment she saw what Wales had been hiding, her heart trembled.

She gasped softly.


	22. A Blurred Summer

Yu Tendo

A few gasps resounded in the living room. Yu could feel his body quiver at the sight before his very eyes and Tsubasa clamped his hands down on his shoulders. Sophie looked as though she was about to cry; Dashan's eyes widened in mild surprise; Julian remained stoic.

_Wally..._

Wales looked at Yu and smiled apologetically. Yu had heard rumors that Wales's left eye was merely slightly different than the other or Wales was simply heterochromatic and did not want to be labeled an anomaly due to his excessive pride. But Yu could see that all those rumors were nowhere near the truth.

Firstly, there were obvious, painful-looking scars around Wales's right eye. The kind of scars that were the result of deep lacerations, like a blade or knife had sliced through his skin. Yu's heart pounded and wrenched. But what stabbed the young boy with the most sorrow was his close friend's eye.

_It's not as blue..._

Wales's right eye was not nearly as cerulean as his unharmed, left eye. Instead, the right eye looked like a faded, sickly pale blue, like a dying sky. And...

"It can't see," Wales said softly and painfully. "And... it can't show emotions either."

Yu and Sophie gasped. That was why something felt off. The right eye was staring at Yu without much of anything, like it wasn't actually looking at anything or anyone. So that was why. It could not show any sort of feeling. Wales studied everyone's faces and shook his head.

"I'm sorry."

Yu felt a lump in his throat. _Wally..._

"What... happened... Wales...?"

Sophie's voice was nearly inaudible even in the silent room. Wales forced a smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. Then, he turned to Julian.

"Can you help me out, please, Konzern?"

Julian nodded. "Very well."

Wales

10 years ago...

The summer sky was a metallic grey, storm clouds hovering above. It was 2 weeks before Wales's 6th birthday. Julian and Wales were sitting by the piano in the latter's house. Adults from both of their families were having a private conversation in the living room. Sophie and Klaus could not come to visit that day since they were spending some time with their own parents. Wales observed in awe as Julian effortlessly played the piano, the melody both perfect and beautiful. Julian noticed Wales's expression and smiled faintly.

"You wanna try Beyblading when you're done?" Wales asked.

"Very well," Julian agreed. Even as a young child, Julian was a very formal person. "I want to see how good Destroyer can get."

"Cetus is-"

Wales was cut off by the sounds of shouting, screaming and shrieking. Even Julian, who was usually calm, was taken aback.

"I will not cooperate with the foul, manipulative likes of you!"

"And to think that I've contributed so much to the Konzern-"

"You've done absolutely nothing to benefit us! You've merely been stealing, robbing and cor-"

"Don't assume what you don't know!"

"Jason-"

"I'm sick of these people who don't know their place!"

"Get out of our home!"

"Fine. But before that..."

Julian and Wales instinctively backed away from the door to the living room when the door burst open. Wales's uncle, Jason, strode out, his face blotched red with anger, madness and sadism. But Wales's eyes darted down and he tried not tremble. He could see a silver knife glinting in the dim light, in his uncle's curled fist. A gold ring gleamed evilly on Uncle Jason's index finger.

"Uncle Jason-" Wales started.

"Jason, put that thing down!"

"Silence, Serena!" Uncle Jason snapped at Wales's mother. He then focused his glare on Julian. "This is for your insolence; a broken son!"

Before anyone could stop him, Uncle Jason lunged at Julian, knife aimed at the young boy.

"No!" Wales shouted, sprinting as fast as he could. "Julian!"

Swish!

"Stop!"

In less than a second, Wales let out a shrill shriek of agony.

"Wales! Wales!"

Wales stared at his uncle, tears filling his eyes as crimson blood seeped down his right cheek. His heart was racing and he could not stop screaming, like raising his voice would alleviate the pain. By shielding Julian, Wales had taken a sharp blow on his right eye and the skin near that eye had also been sliced by the blade.

His heartbeat was palpitating.

He could hardly hear anyone speak. Snippets of conversations were barely detected. Words and phrases like _How dare you_ , _Wales_ , _Unforgivable_ , _Doctor._

Metal clattered on the ground. Someone said something about private matter. Secret from public. Disgrace. Disowned.

Wales clutched his eye.

Julian was crying out to him.

Wales fell. His parents' voices. His mother's sobs.

The clicking of handcuffs.

Blackness overwhelmed him.

Julian Konzern

Julian remembered how he'd waited when Wales was in the ICU. He had clenched his fists and even shed a few tears, which was rare of him to do so. He merely stared down at the cold, dull floor when the adults clustered around the doctor, asking about Wales's condition. His family had demanded for the most reliable doctor, stating that that was the least they could do for the boy that had sacrificed himself to save their son.

At a young age, Julian could hardly grasp the meaning of medical terms, but his heart froze when he heard this blunt, cruel term:

_Blind._

Wales could no longer see with his right eye.

Julian felt his heart ache as he and Wales told the entire story to Sophie, Yu, Tsubasa, and Dashan, who had been told the basic details by Julian. That ruthless, summer day was one of the first memories that flickered inside Julian's head when he finally snapped back to his senses in Hades City after Wales, Sophie and Dashan reached out to him. Julian knew that no matter what surgery there was in the era that they lived in, it could never completely mend the damage that had been done to Wales. Wales's eye was given the best treatment that there was, but it was never the same. It could neither see or display any sort of emotion. It could widen, close and squint, but it would not show a single tinge of anger, sorrow or happiness.

Julian and Wales, however, were ordered to not tell a soul what had happened on that bleak summer day. Not even Sophie and Klaus. There were matters regarding scandals, reputations, business, personal affairs, which both boys did not truly comprehend back then. When Sophie and Klaus met them again days after the surgery, Julian told them to not press Wales for answers. That it seemed to be simply a change of heart that Wales covered his right eye. But now they had grown up and telling the people that Wales loved and cared about most was ideal and indisputable. They deserved to know. They needed to know.

Frankly, Wales could have done it earlier. But Julian knew that the boy had been afraid. Strangely, Wales's timing was still perfect.

Inwardly, Julian was satisfied. Wales now trusted more than he used to.

Wales

When Wales finally stopped, he felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest. He had dreaded yet yearned to tell them for so long, and now he had finally done just that. But...

how did they feel about the truth?

Julian managed a satisfied smile amid his grim expression and beside him, Dashan shook his head in concern and understanding.

"Wally..."

Yu's small, pained voice broke Wales's heart. Wales turned and saw the younger boy slide down the sofa, with Tsubasa's hand on his shoulder, and approached Wales. Tsubasa gazed at Wales with a look of understanding, sympathy and apology, which the latter forced a smile at. Wales felt a hand on his and he knew that it was Sophie.

Someone whom he had yet another secret to tell.

Sophie got up and looked into Wales's eye, tears flooding hers.

"I should have known how much pain you were in..." she whispered, shaking her head quietly.

"That's not true," Wales argued gently. "You couldn't have figured it out."

Wales lowered his eyes.

"The blame is mine to bear."

"Wally, that's not fair."

Wales felt a tug on his shirt sleeve and looked down at Yu, whose green eyes were wet with moisture.

"It's not fair at all... that you keep being so hard on yourself. You did what you thought was best... No one can blame you for that."

Wales clenched his teeth, his heart twisting in pain. "I know. But-"

"And we are all glad that you trust us," Tsubasa added, placing a hand on Wales's shoulder. He smiled lightly. "You've grown ever since we battled in the World Championship."

"Tsubasa is right," Julian spoke, his voice sure. "It's evident."

"We are all with you, Wales," Sophie assured, smiling kindly through her tears.

"Yeah!"

"Believe us, my friend."

"We are all fighting with you!"

"You guys..." Wales shut his eyes, clenching his trembling fists. Tears flowed like a river out of his left eye.

In a moment, he opened his eyes and smiled with gratitude and sincerity.

"Thank you. I could never have asked for better friends. For you guys are... my best friends."

"Wally!"

Yu tackled Wales into a hug and the latter soon felt Sophie and Tsubasa join them, later followed by Julian and Dashan. Wales could feel himself quiver, but he couldn't care less. He was in the company of his family, and he never wanted to let go of any of them.

Outside, torrents of rain cascaded down like they had back when Wales was stuck in a hospital room, struggling to cope with his blind eye. But this time, he felt like it wasn't raining at all, for the people that radiated warmth in his life were right here with him... and always would be.

???

Jason, Wales's uncle, could vividly remember the testimonies that all of his family members, including the grandson that had lost one eye, had given against him. After that, he knew that not regretting drilling the knife through Wales was not a mistake. He knew that the jailtime had cleared his thoughts out of the business that he had seen as a burden and given him a more ideal objective:

Revenge.

And of course, an outbreak of darkness.

Let the darkness overtake the wretched boy.

Klaus

"J-Julian..."

Klaus slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on a soft, white bed. Groggily, he scanned the room and looking at the thin, green tubes attached to his body, he realized that he had been checked into a hospital.

_Who-_

He found a note lying on the bedside desk. Grunting, he reached for it, trying not to flinch, and took ahold of it.

It was in Sophie's handwriting.

She, Wales, Yu and Tsubasa had left Paris to search for Julian, according to the letter. How long had it been since the letter had been written? Sophie had also told him to check his phone for updates, so that was what he did next, although his shoulder throbbed painfully due to his wound.

Klaus's eyes widened.

There were countless messages from Wales, Sophie, Julian, Yu and Tsubasa. From all the friends that had been there during the chaos near the Eiffel Tower. Klaus opened Julian's chat first and read.

Klaus's heart thudded in his chest. If anything, things had not gotten better when he was in a coma. In fact, things had escalated into a riot of complexities and mayhem.

By the time he was done, Klaus had already made a resolute decision.

He had to go to Tokyo.


	23. Obvious

Hikaru Hasama

"You called, Director?"

"Yes, Hikaru. Have you found anything yet?"

"No, sir."

Mr Hagane sighed and sipped his coffee, his expression concerned. Hikaru had been assigned to search for information about Team Kage, who had left the tounament, Hayoto and Jason, Wales's uncle. The situation was anything but fine. Masamune was in the hospital and had yet to wake up; the members Team Aozora, especially Wales, had targets on their backs; the WBBA had no clue as to how to end the chaos. Hikaru tried to not wince as she thought of how Masamune had suddenly unleashed darkness and assaulted Wales back in the tournament. As much as she hated it, the incident brought back haunting memories of her battle against Ryuga.

"Should we bring Tsubasa in?" Hikaru asked.

"There's no need for that," the director responded. "I believe that his main priority now is looking out for Wales, Yu and the rest of his team. I'd like to keep it that way."

Hikaru sighed. "This isn't easy."

The director shook his head. "Is it ever easy?"

Yu Tendo

"How long more until we arrive?"

"2 hours."

"What?"

Yu cried out in horror as Wales, Sophie and Tsubasa laughed. The group, besides Julian,was taking a day trip to one of the most beautiful tourist attractions in Tokyo: Nigimura Garden. They had rented a car and Tsubasa was driving. Yu sat beside him at the front while Wales and Sophie sat at the back.

"It's just been 25 minutes, Yu," Tsubasa remarked, amused.

"Oh come on!" Yu exclaimed.

"And there is traffic up ahead."

"Wally!"

"That's not my fault!"

In the rear-view mirror, Yu laughed at Wales's reddened expression and Sophie was giggling softly.

"Not you too, Sophie!"

"Sorry, Wales. But you just look so ado-"

Sophie suddenly stopped, her cheeks flushing pale pink. Feeling a strange awkwardness hovering in the air, Yu turned to Tsubasa and his eyes widened at how his friend was holding back a laugh. Yu then peered at the back and saw Wales staring at Sophie in confusion, surprise and embarassment.

"I look... erm... what?" Wales stuttered.

 _Tell him, Sophie!_ Yu mentally chanted in his head, realizing what Sophie had been about to say. Sophie tried to avert her eyes away, but Wales held her gaze.

"Adorable..." Sophie whispered, blushing even more.

Then, it was Wales's turn to look away, but not before his red cheeks darkened.

"T-Thanks."

"Y... Yeah..."

A deep silence wafted in the air.

"Yu."

"Yes, Tsubasa?"

Yu looked at the silver-haired teen and was met with a thoughtful look.

"When they kiss, remind me to cover your eyes."

Yu's eyes widened. "Aww! But I wanna watch!"

"Tsubasa! Yu!" Wales and Sophie cried out from the back.

Julian Konzern

"Checkmate."

"No way! He's good at chess too?"

Hummingbirds chirped cheerfully as if in response to Julian's victory. He and Team Wang Hu Zhong were spending the day together in a more serene area in Tokyo, not so far from where Wales's group were. The groups were originally going to be combined, but Dashan suggested to give Team Aozora some quality time together, to which Julian could not agree more.

Julian smirked at Chao Xin's bewildered expression. Chao Xin had practically given his Queen and Bishops away so easily, so why turn down the opportunity?

"More like you're terrible," Chi-yun commented.

"Hey!"

"You gave up your Queen, Chao Xin!"

"It's not like I did it on purpose, Mei-Mei!"

"That shows that you need to practise more," Dashan pointed out, standing beside Julian. He looked at Julian and smiled. "Shall we battle in Beyblade next?"

Julian smiled with determination. "Challenge accepted."

Sophie

"We're here, guys."

"Whoa..."

"I know the pictures looked great, but this is..."

Stepping out of the car, Sophie could not tear her eyes away from the scenery before her eyes, her breath caught. Clear, azure waters cascaded in water fountains like falls, nearly transparent under the warm sunlight. Countless flowers from red and pink roses, white daisies and purple orchids all the way to blue clematis and yellow sunflowers filled the garden amid patches of viridescent grass like stars and fireworks in a night sky. White pigeons circled the air in smooth, perfect arcs as Sophie's heart skipped a beat in wonder and admiration.

"This... is beautiful..."

"Let's go have lunch! I'm starving!"

Yu's bright voice pulled Sophie out of her trance. He smiled radiantly and grabbed Tsubasa's arm, pulling the older boy along with him as he ran along the flat, stony path adorned by tiny white petals. Tsubasa laughed and kept up with Yu. Sophie smiled at the sight of their friendship.

"Let's go, Sophie."

Sophie felt someone stand extremely close beside her and faced Wales, whose eye smiled at her. Sophie nearly gasped at how amazingly sincere, kind and luminous Wales looked smiling like that under the pure daylight, her heart skipping a few beats. He wore a loose, pale azure T-shirt underneath an unbuttoned black vest, navy blue jeans and clean, white sneakers with a raindrop insignia. His bangs had fallen naturally above his right eye and his hair had been neatly combed. She knew that Wales had been with sitting with her in the car, but somehow the light made her eyes open more to how beautiful he was. How the very sight of him in the garden was a masterpiece.

_Wales..._

Sophie could feel her cheeks turn rosy at her thoughts, but they did not stop as she realized that Wales was staring at her with such a deep intensity, like he was drawn to her somehow. Like they were two unalike magnets. Or she had casted a spell on him. But she also felt like he was casting a spell on her...

"Wally! Sophie! You guys can daydream about each other later! Let's go!"

"Yu!" Wales exclaimed, blushing bright red.

Nevertheless, they walked together, although they averted their eyes away from each other. Awkwardness appeared to have shattered the dreamlike landscape that they had been in earlier.

"Uh... Sophie?"

"Y-Yeah?" Sophie slowly turned to Wales, who had not stopped blushing.

"Uh..."

Wales rubbed the back of his head, smiling awkwardly, still not looking at Sophie.

"You... look adorable too."

Sophie's eyes widened.

"And..."

Wales gulped and faced Sophie.

"Beautiful."

Wales

_I am an embarrassment to the art of romance... and confessions..._

Beautiful was ludicrously obvious as an understatement. She looked grand, priceless, brilliant. Wales could only inwardly groan at his absurd, plain choice in vocabulary. Under the glowing sunlight, Sophie's kind, olive eyes only looked brighter and kinder than they already were. Her wavy, pale blue hair flowed gently in the warm breeze like flower petals and so did her white sundress, which was adorned by tiny violet flower designs on the seams. Wales's heart couldn't stop pounding as he walked beside Sophie, trying to resist the urge to blurt out more of his feelings and grab her hand.

He wanted to tell her that he loved her. That he knew that she loved him too.

But how was he going to find that right, perfect moment when he had no clue as to how to make everything perfect or right himself?

Zeo Abyss

"What did I... do...?"

"It's not your fault, Masamune, and you know it."

"But I..."

Zeo gripped Masamune on the shoulder, his heart throbbing in sorrow towards his best friend. They were alone in the hospital room; Toby and King had gone out to buy lunch for the 4 of them. Ever since Masamune woke up from unconsciousness, he hadn't stopped lamenting over what he'd done in the tournament: trapping Wales in a prison of darkness, harming all of his teammates as well as Yu, Sophie and Tsubasa, unable to shrug off the darkness, ruining the entire event.

"I had a bad feeling when I was asleep days ago," Masamune admitted, clenching his fists. "I saw a hooded guy stab me on the arm with a black knife. I had a feeling it wasn't just a dream, but... I didn't wanna tell you guys."

Zeo patted Masamune on the back. "You didn't want to worry us, did you?"

"It's not that," Masamune answered, looking down in shame. "I wanted to prove that I could overcome it myself. That I could handle it better than both Tsubasa and Ryuga. But..."

Masamune clenched his teeth and shut his eyes, his fists trembling.

"I didn't."

"Chin up, Masamune," Zeo said, rubbing his friend's back. "It isn't like you to be so down. Toby and King will just worry about you more if they see you like this."

"Yeah, but-"

"And you tried. You didn't want anyone to help and you tried. No one can exactly blame you for trying. But next time, just... toss your pride aside for awhile and ask for help, okay?"

Masamune sighed. "Yeah, I guess that won't hurt."

Zeo smiled.

Yu Tendo

"That pesto pasta was awesome!"

"Their truffle fries were good too."

"You said it, Tsubasa!"

The group smiled as they walked out of the restaurant, which was a part of this amazing tourist spot. Yu was originally going to order some ice-cream for lunch, but Sophie reminded him that there was an ice-cream parlour here too, which made Yu's eyes sparkle.

_I can't wait!_

Yu crossed his arms behind his head and looked over his shoulder at Wales and Sophie. The Cetus duo walked together, chatting, their arms nearly touching. But they were not even holding hands. Sophie was holding onto her white handbag with both hands while Wales awkwardly had both hands dipped into his pockets.

 _Oh come on!_ Yu mentally groaned at the sight. _You guys love each other! It's super duper obvious even I know it! Hold her hand, Wally!_

But Wales did not make a single move. Yu turned to Tsubasa, who seemed to have noticed and gave him an amused smile.

"What?" Yu asked.

Tsubasa gestured at their close friends and beckoned Yu closer. Although confused, Yu followed.

"Do you want to play matchmaker?"

Yu's eyes lit up. "You bet I do!"

"Shh..." Tsubasa chuckled. "Here's the plan..."

Tsubasa whispered a few sentences and ideas to Yu, careful to not make Wales and Sophie suspicious. Yu couldn't help but grin when Tsubasa was done.

"You got it, buddy?" Tsubasa asked.

"You bet!" Yu exclaimed, to which his best friend smiled.

Wales

Wales was struggling. He wanted to hold her hand like couples did, like they did in rare occassions. He wanted to tell her how he felt and how much he truly, honestly loved her. But how was he going to do that? He couldn't just suddenly stop walking, grab her arm and blurt out, _You know something, Sophie? I love you._ How ludicrously atrocious of a confession would that be?

So he had dug his hands deep into his pockets.

His clenched hands.

"Wally, I'm starving!"

Yu's complaint startled Wales out of his thoughts.

"But you just ate!" Wales exclaimed.

"I was saving my stomach for some ice-cream, so let's go!"

"But-"

Yu grabbed Wales's arm and broke into a dash, dragging the latter along. Wales swiveled his head over his shoulder and saw Sophie's eyes reflecting his confusion and surprise. Tsubasa said a few words to Sophie with a chuckle, but Wales could not make it out.

_What's going on?_

"Don't fall, Wally!"

"Who said I would?" Wales shot back, to which Yu laughed.

"There's no shame in falling. Falling in love, that is."

"Yu!"

Wales's eyes widened. _Is that what this is about?_

In a few minutes, they arrived in the ice-cream parlour.

Klaus

"Are you onboard the jet?"

"Yes, Julian.

"Good. Take care and be sure to contact me when you arrive."

"I will."

Klaus smiled and hung up, looking out the window. He was looking forward to seeing his friends again. Julian, Wales and Sophie... And he owed Yu and Tsubasa thanks for trying so hard to help Team Excalibur.

It was 5 minutes until the jet took flight.

And hours before his return.


	24. Weakness

Tsubasa Otori

"Did you and Yu plan something?"

Tsubasa chuckled lightly at Sophie's question. He grew more amused when he saw the suspicion, curiosity and confusion on the blue-haired girl's face.

"You can say that," Tsubasa replied, smiling.

"But," Sophie watched as Wales and Yu's figures disappeared with the increasing distance, "why-"

"You'll see," Tsubasa said, gesturing to the opposite direction. "Just follow me."

Sophie turned to Tsubasa, still clueless.

"We need to talk," Tsubasa simply said.

Wales

"One pot of Earl Grey milk tea."

"Thanks," Wales said with a brief nod as the waiter carefully placed the two empty white cups and a large, matching teapot on the round table. They sat in the ice-cream parlor, which turned out to also serve famous milk tea. Yu had protested when Wales decided to order milk tea for the both of them, but the latter assured the younger boy that he would enjoy it.

 _If you don't_ , Wales had promised, smiling assuringly, _I'll finish the entire teapot for the both of us._

Yu had panicked when Wales said that, worried that the latter would end up feeling sick, but he simply smiled at Yu. It was fine. He did not really mind, especially since Yu was one of his closest friends. If it was someone else, then...

Forget it. Actually, let the whole idea buzz off.

"Is it really good?" Yu asked as Wales reached for the teapot handle.

"It is, trust me," Wales replied as he poured the milk tea into the two cups, starting with Yu's. "It's my favourite drink, to be honest."

"Does it have sugar?"

Wales shook his head. "There is no need for that."

"What?" Yu nearly shrieked.

Wales bit back a laugh. "Just try it."

Yu doubtfully nodded as he took ahold of his cup and sniffed the drink.

"It smells awesome!" Yu exclaimed.

Wales smiled at his words.

Yu then held the cup near his mouth and took a small sip. His emerald eyes dilated.

"So?" Wales asked.

"It's..." Yu slowly looked up at Wales and his eyes glittered with pure joy, a bright smile illuminating his face, "super awesome, Wally!"

Wales's smile broadened. "What did I tell you?" He picked his cup up and took a sip. He nodded. "Yes, it's good."

Yu beamed and Wales couldn't help but feel his heart warm up at the kid's pure happiness. _If this is what it feels like to have a little brother_ , Wales thought to himself, _I am not surprised._

"Uh... Yu."

"Yeap, Wally?" Yu asked, his eyes wide like an owl's.

"You erm..." Wales rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "want to talk about... Sophie?"

Yu nodded vigorously. "Yeap, I sure do!"

Wales rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"You guys are in love!"

Wales winced slightly at how loud Yu was, knowing that there were numerous spectators around, giving them the opportunity to either overhear or eavesdrop. Wales held a finger near his lips and Yu smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, Wally."

Strangely, Wales did not feel a single spark of annoyance towards the kid. "It's fine."

Yu then continued, speaking in a softer voice. "I mean, it's so obvious, Wally! You guys love each other. The way you look at each other, the way you blush... Look at your beys too; they show that you're meant for each other!"

Wales mentally facepalmed. How was it possible that this kid here, who was not even 12 years old (though he would be soon), understood the chemistry between Wales and Sophie, who were about 16 now, more than they themselves did? Was this boy a genius? Or was it that that was the way love was? Because Wales was not going to consider the possibility that he and Sophie well... lacked intelligence.

"I heard her admit it when I was in the dark."

The words just slipped out of his mouth. _Why did I tell him that?_ Wales questioned inside his head. Yu's eyes nearly bulged.

"You did? Whoa! But how? And if so, why didn't you just tell her how you feel?"

"It's... not easy," Wales admitted quietly, lowering his eyes.

"What is?"

Wales sighed at Yu's obliviousness. "The entire thing."

"Huh?"

Wales steeled himself to explain everything while minimizing the stuttering as much as possible.

Sophie

"And... I'm not sure if he likes me back..."

"He does, trust me."

"But..."

Sophie lowered her eyes as she strolled around the garden with Tsubasa. The spring zephyrs stroked her cheeks gently as olive leaves and pink sakura petals rustled softly. She loved Wales. She knew that. And everyone else but her seemed to know that Wales loved her back. But... how was she going to muster the courage to tell Wales how she felt? Was waiting the right option?

"Wales did say that he wanted to talk to me in private after he was free from the darkness..." Sophie admitted, her voice softening. "But I think that we both forgot."

Tsubasa nodded thoughtfully. "He might have wanted to confess."

Sophie's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"But knowing Wales, I think that he is nervous. After all..."

Tsubasa smiled wryly.

"He's not exactly the best at being open about his feelings, right?"

Wales

"And well... that's it."

"What? So you're saying that you _**forgot**_ to talk to her in private?"

"Either that or my fear got the better of me."

"Why, Wally?" Yu exclaimed, shaking his head. "You're super brave!"

Wales winced slightly at the answer to that question. Their ice-cream sundaes remained untouched on the table and they hadn't even finsihed their first cups of milk tea. Yu was staring at Wales with an incredulous expression and the latter felt guilty that the kid thought so highly of him while he was a true coward.

"Because I am terrible at saying how I feel," Wales spoke in a near whisper, lowering his eyes.

Yu's face softened at Wales's words. "Wally..."

"To hide my pain from 10 years ago, I used my pride. That pride was supposed to only be a mask, but then..." Wales felt his heart wrench. "I became that proud, arrogant blader that you first met in the Beyblade World Championship. That mask... defined me. And... thus, it's hard to express how I feel honestly. I used to feel so much confidence and like how that felt, but now... I hate how I don't even have the guts to be honest about my feelings with the girl I love."

Wales nearly felt like crying. He hated the arrogant person that he'd become and just stopped being not too long ago. He hated how hard it was to be positively honest. But most of all, he hated how this weakness was making the situation hard not only for himself, but for Sophie. And possibly, for Yu and the rest too. Wales studied Yu's expression and was surprised by the vivid sorrow on the younger boy's face.

"You know, Wally?"

Yu reached for the handle of the teapot.

"That's what I really disliked about you back when we first met."

Wales nodded, not at all amazed by this fact.

"I can clearly remember when you told my team to _hit the road._ Remember that?" Yu chuckled a bit. "But I wouldn't be close buddies with you if all I thought of you was arrogant, irritating and very, very rude."

Wales smiled a bit. He probably could have felt insulted, but he didn't.

"I saw how you treated the rest of Excalibur. You are super loyal and incredibly kind and... you'd do anything to protect them. To be honest, when I look at you, Wally..."

Pouring more milk tea into Wales's cup, Yu smiled brightly at the teenager.

"I see more kindness than arrogance. Way more kindness and that's saying a lot about the guy you actually are, Wally."

Yu then started to scoop a large spoon of chocolate ice-cream. Wales observed the boy for a moment, wondering what he'd ever done to deserve to be on the receiving end of those words. A lump was stuck in his throat, but Wales simply smiled at Yu, feeling his heart filled with warmth and gratefulness. Maybe he was not as horrible of a person as he thought he was. Maybe he was actually rather decent. So he might as well start living up to the person that he wanted to believe he was.

He wanted to be honest. Not only in the negative, but also in the positive. And he wanted to stop Sophie's wait. She deserved better. And he was going to be honest, no matter how much he stammered along the way.

"Yu?"

"Yeah?" Yu spoke with a mouthful of ice-cream.

Wales gave him a sincere smile.

" _Arigato, nakama._ "

At Wales's words, Yu beamed.

Tsubasa Otori

"Leave it to me and Yu. We'll come up with a plan."

Sophie nodded slowly. "Are you sure it's okay?"

Tsubasa smiled. "Hey. That's what friends are for, right?"

Sophie smiled at that.

Vzzzt!

Tsubasa pulled his phone out of his pocket and frowned. Sophie nodded in understanding and Tsubasa picked up.

"Hello?"

"Tsubasa, are you alone?"

"It's just me and Sophie," Tsubasa replied. "Did something happen, Hikaru?"

"You are familiar with the members of the WBBA council, right?"

"Yes." Tsubasa's heart sank into uneasiness. "Why?"

"Be careful around them."

"What happened?" Tsubasa asked, knowing that he was not going to like the answer.

Hikaru sighed. "It's not good. Do not tell anyone other than your group, Julian and Team Wang Hu Zhong. Madoka will tell the rest."

"Understood."

Hikaru then spoke even softer, as though she was afraid that someone was going to hear her. Tsubasa's eyes widened slightly. _Oh no._

"Alright. Thanks, Hikaru."

Then, they hung up.

"What's wrong?" Sophie asked, concern pooling around her green eyes.

"Not here," Tsubasa muttered, shaking his head. "We'll discuss this at my house. For now, just act like nothing happened, okay?"

Sophie nodded, her worry intensifying. "How bad is it?"

"Atrocious."

_There is a traitor in the council. And we may be being spied on at this very moment._

_Not good._


	25. Return

Wales

_Drown and die in the darkness, dear child._

"No!"

Wales shot up to sitting position, breathing in and out heavily. His eyes were wide open and he glanced around the unlit bedroom. Sophie, Yu, Julian Tsubasa were all sleeping soundly. Wales looked down at their serene expressions and sighed with relief. His uncle was nowhere to be seen and neither was Hayoto.

"I'm glad."

As Wales's heart slowed down, he mentally recalled what had happened a few hours ago, after they had returned from Nijimura Garden. Team Wang Hu Zhong, Julian, Sophie, Yu and Wales had all been gathered in Tsubasa's room.

"What's up, Tsubasa?" Chao Xin asked, sitting beside Mei-Mei.

Standing next to Yu, Tsubasa faced everyone.

"I have some news from Hikaru regarding the WBBA."

Tsuabsa frowned, his arms crossed.

"Things are not good."

"What happened?" Julian asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Someone is working for Jason from inside the council."

Gasps resounded in the room. But Wales knew that it made sense. The sudden shuffling of the opponents in each round, the permitting of a suspicious group like Team Kage to participate, the bizzare setup of the clashing of Masamune and Wales... They could not have all been mere coincidences. As Tsubasa continued speaking, a chill ran down Wales's spine like a snake.

And now some sicko might be keeping track of their every move?

"You're awake, Wales?"

Wales's eyes widened at the kind, gentle voice. "Sophie?"

Sophie silently walked over to him and sat beside him, her eyes filled with worry.

"Are you okay?"

Wales shook his head, deciding to be honest. "Not really. I had a horrible dream. But I'll be fine, thanks, Sophie."

Sophie smiled sadly. "Is it about your uncle?"

Wales nearly flinched at the word "uncle". "Well... yeah."

"You are not facing him alone, Wales."

Sophie gave Wales a warm smile.

"You have us, remember?

Wales cracked a smile at Sophie's words. "I know."

Deep down, Wales's heart was a conflict of emotions. Was now the right time to tell her? To confess his hidden -or not so hidden- feelings for her? If not, then when? Wales remembered Yu's words. The younger boy had said that he was really brave. But was this the right time to be brave about his emotions, when Sophie was worrying about him after he had just woken up from a nightmare of his so-called uncle?

"So... are you going back to sleep?"

"Uh... I guess." Wales glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's much too early to be awake."

Sophie laughed softly. "2 is too early."

Wales laughed. "That's better than 12 midnight."

"Wales!"

After a few more moments of laughter, Wales then tucked himself back into bed and Sophie sat by his side on a wooden chair.

"Sophie?" Wales asked, puzzled.

"I'll be here until you fall asleep," she said, smiling kindly.

Wales could feel his heart warming at her kindness. "Thanks... Sophie."

Julian Konzern

The night air was cold around Julian. Julian stood beside his butler on the smooth floor of the airport, awaiting the arrival of his friend. Julian had rose from sleep at 4 a.m. sharp and had been mildly surprised by his discovery. Sophie had fallen asleep near the edge of Wales's bed, seated on a brown chair, her head next to Wales's.

 _You both are already a couple without knowing it_ , Julian had thought with a faint smile before wearing his red coat.

Standing in the airport, Julian's smile returned as he recalled the memory. And when his blue eyes landed on the person that he had been awaiting, his smile broadened.

"We've been waiting for your return."

Sophie

"Yu, delete that photo!"

"No way! This is just way too awesome!"

"Yu!"

Sophie's cheeks were swelling with blood in embarrassment as she tried to eat her breakfast. With a reddened face, Wales tried to grab Yu's handphone as he chased the younger boy around the house, and Tsubasa was watching the entire scene in amusement. Yu had woken up after Wales and Sophie had fallen asleep and taken a photo of them. It turned out that Sophie had fallen asleep while taking care of Wales, with her head next to his on his bed.

"Come on, Wally! It's priceless!"

"Which is why you can't afford to have it!"

"What kind of logic is that?"

"An obvious one. Now-"

A few knocks on the door interrupted Wales, and the four friends all turned.

"Who is it?" Tsubasa called out.

"It's me," Julian's voice answered.

"Julian!"

Wales and Sophie both hurried over to the door. Julian was nowhere to be found when they woke up in the bright morning. Instead, a note had taken his place, saying that he would be back before breakfast ended. Julian's timing was impeccable. Wales unlocked the door and pulled it open.

"Julian, you're just in time for-"

Wales's eye widened in astonishment as Sophie gasped.

"Klaus!"

Tsubasa Otori

"Are you feeling better now, tough guy?"

"Yeah, thanks, Wales."

Wales smiled with relief as Klaus drank his cup of black coffee. It turned out that Julian had gone out to pick Klaus up at the airport without telling them the details so that he could surprise the group. Yu laughed joyfully as Klaus ruffled his hair and Sophie smiled at the sight. Tsubasa himself was glad that Klaus had woken up from his coma, but he nearly grimaced at the memory of the latter lying unconscious on the floor, stained with crimson liquid, wounds torn open on his skin. Klaus had told them about what Hayoto had done. The twisted boy had initially wanted to aim at Klaus's chest and see how long Klaus's heart could sustain Malevolence's power, but he decided to "search for a better lab rat" and use Klaus as "a lovely message for the one-eyed kid".

 _So they were after Wales from the very beginning..._ Tsubasa thought, inwardly disgusted by Hayoto and Jason's plans.

That explained why a possessed Julian targeted Wales, of all people, and the unreasonable setups in the tournament. But so far, they had failed to destroy Wales. Tsubasa turned and watched as Wales sipped his cup of English Breakfast tea and laughed at something that Yu said. Wales had definitely proven his strength over the past weeks, not only as a blader, but also as a person. Tsubasa's heart clenched.

Yet... the battle was far from over.

"Sorry I couldn't tell you about this sooner, Klaus."

"Don't worry. Julian told me everything. It's not your bad."

Klaus grinned as Wales let go of the brown bangs covering his right eye, letting it be concealed again.

"Just so you know, I'm with you all the way."

Wales's eye widened, but his face soon relaxed into a sincere smile. "Yeah. Thank you, Klaus."

"And that includes supporting your love life with Sophie."

"What?" Wales nearly choked on his tea as Klaus gave him a mischievous smirk and a thumbs-up sign. Julian smiled knowingly and Tsubasa stifled a laugh when Yu waved his green handphone at the blushing Cetus duo.

"And I have the proof right here!"

"Yu!"

Klaus

"Come on, Libra!"

"Go, Cetus!"

"Is it that I've gotten worse at Beyblading or they've gotten better?" Klaus asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Evidently, the latter," Julian replied, his arms crossed as he observed the members of Team Aozora battle each other; Yu and Wales; Tsubasa and Sophie. He gave Klaus an assuring smile. "You'll recover your strength as time goes by. You have only just awoken, after all."

"Yeah, thanks, Julian."

Yellow and pink hummingbirds chirped peacefully as the colliding of metal against metal rang in the neighbourhood park. Earlier on, to celebrate Klaus's return, he had had a full-on battle against Yu, Wales, Sophie and Tsubasa, all 1 on 1 matches. And Klaus had gotten defeated by them, one by one, starting with Yu and a newly-evolved Libra. But the thing that got to Klaus the most was that he did not just lose marginally; his friends practically defeated him by a large gap in power. And power was Klaus's strong point. Clutching his Grand Capricorn in one hand, Klaus sighed and decided to cheer up. Julian was right; he was not to be blamed for his loss. He just needed more time to recover.

"Eagle!"

"Cetus!"

A smile curved across Klaus's face as he watched Yu, Wales, Sophie and Tsubasa battle. They truly had gotten stronger, a lot stronger. And definitely way closer as friends and allies. Yu smiled brightly and congratulated Wales when the latter perfected a new special move, while Sophie and Tsubasa smiled at each other when they saw that both of their beys had survived the clashing of their individual special moves.

They made an amazing team. A team that would last.

"Yu! Tsubasa! You guys are training here too? "

Yu Tendo

"I'm really sorry about last time, Wales, guys. I really didn't mean to hurt any of you."

"It's okay," Wales responded, smiling lightly at Masamune. "We know that."

Masamune grinned slightly. Masamune, Zeo, Toby and King had gone to the park to practice and ended up running into Yu and the others. Masamune had bounced up in joy when he saw that Klaus was alive and well, with Klaus smiling broadly at him.

"So now... let's battle, Klaus!"

"Sounds good, Masamune."

"You wanna go get some ice-cream, Yu?" Wales asked, his eye looking down at Yu.

Yu could feel his insides bubbling with excitement. "Really?"

"Yeah." Wales nodded briefly with a kind smile. "That was a tiring battle and I thought you'd like to get your favourite treat."

"Wow!" Yu exclaimed, beaming up at the Cetus blader. "Thank you so much, Wally! You're awesome!"

Wales smiled. "You're welcome."

Yu then grabbed Wales's arm and ran. So let's go!"

"Slow down, Yu!"

Tsubasa Otori

_Not all happy moments last._

The thought crossed Tsubasa's mind as he and Sophie ran after Wales and Yu. Klaus and Masamune launched their beys while Julian talked with Zeo, King and Toby. He tried to forget the words, his heart clenching in his chest. Yet he knew that the past few days had been far too peaceful.

Hayoto and Jason had not made a single appearance; there was no burst of darkness anywhere near them; Tsubasa, Wales and everyone else had been enjoying their time off together without any mayhem happening around them. There was the situation about a traitor in the WBBA council, but other than that, everything was okay.

"You guys are too slow!"

"We're coming, buddy!"

"You said it, Tsubasa!"

Tsubasa remembered the times from back when he was an undercover agent, before he became friends with Yu. He worked alone and trusted no one but himself. Clashing with other bladers, walking along the dim corridors of the Dark Nebula headquarters, gathering information... He was by himself and himself only.

"The ice-cream's over there!"

But not long after becoming friends with Yu, Gingka and the others, Tsubasa realized that he had originally lacked this: the will to protect someone other than himself. Running with Yu, Wales and Sophie, Tsubasa knew that those three all mattered so much to him, that they were the three closest friends he ever had. That he wanted to protect them, no matter what.

_Yeah, not all happy moments last._

"Do they have Earl Grey-flavoured ice-cream?"

"Do they? I wanna try!"

"That sounds nice."

"I know right!"

_But still..._

Tsubasa placed a hand on Yu's head and smiled as he ordered a cone of vanilla ice-cream.

_I want to make sure... that they are happy._

Hikaru Hasama

"Director!"

Hikaru stared in sheer horror as the director crashed against the wall and slumped down to his knees. Her heart trembled in fear, worry and panic as she glanced around the narrow corridor for help, her grip on her launcher faltering.

"Hi... karu..." Mr Hagane uttered weakly, his Burn Phoenix barely spinning.

"Hang in there, Director! I-"

"Run."

"But I can't just-"

"Get... Gingka, Tsubasa and the others..."

The director tried to smile, his hand clutching his chest tightly as he coughed.

"I'll be fine."

Hikaru stood frozen, unsure of what to do.

"Do it now, Phoenix!"

In a blink of an eye, Phoenix unleashed a wall of orange and yellow flames, which separated Hikaru from the director and his assailant.

"Director!" Hikaru screamed.

"Run, Hikaru!" the director yelled, his voice strained.

With unshed tears in her eyes, Hikaru reluctantly turned away and broke into a run before she could change her mind. But as she ran, the tears came falling down like rain. Gritting her teeth, she gripped her Aquarius bey in her hand tightly. Behind her, she could hear the triggering of an explosion. She glanced over her shoulder, her vision blurred by moisture. Fire against darkness.

"Director..."

???

"The director has been disposed of."

"Good."

Jason sat at his desk, smiling in satisfaction at the man standing before him. Beside him, Hayoto smirked.

"So the preparations are done?"

"Wholly complete."

Jason smirked back, a sinister glint in his eyes.

_See you soon, you wretched boy._


	26. Night Hunt

Yu Tendo

"What?"

Yu gasped at the shock and worry in Tsubasa's normally-even voice and he, Wales and Sophie all swivelled around to face their close friend. It was about 10 p.m. at night and they had been up watching the first episodes of various anime together when Tsubasa received a call from the WBBA. Julian had gone out to oversee Klaus's training, who had been determined to regain his lost strength. With _Code Geass_ paused on the television screen, Tsubasa held his purple handphone near his ear, his golden eyes a mix of worry and concern.

"Tsubasa...?" Yu uttered, his heart thumping in his chest.

"Yeah....... Understood. Yeah, I will...... Thanks. I'll let you know when we find something."

When Tsubasa hung up, Yu rushed over to his side and tugged at his long, white pants' sleeves.

"What happened, buddy?"

Tsubasa placed a hand on top of Yu's head and sighed heavily.

"The WBBA is in a riot of chaos."

"Is this about the traitor in the council?" Wales asked.

Wales's cerulean eye was narrowed in suspicion and concern and his hands were on Sophie's shoulders, whose green eyes glimmered with worry.

"Maybe, but that's not the main problem right now."

"So what is?" Yu asked, his pulse accelerating.

Tsubasa took a deep breath and let it go.

"There was an explosion in the WBBA headquarters."

Yu's eyes widened in horror as Wales and Sophie stared in shock.

"What?"

"Not only that, but..." Tsubasa grimaced. "Gingka's dad was found unconscious in a corridor, surrounded by flames, and Hikaru, who was supposed to be with him, is nowhere to be found."

"But that's-"

Yu's phone suddenly vibrated. His emerald eyes widened as he ran and grabbed the phone off the desk. His eyes nearly bulged.

"It's Hippidy-Hop!"

"Hikaru!" Wales exclaimed as Yu hurriedly accepted the call.

"Hello?"

"Y-Yu..."

"Hippidy-Hop!" Yu cried out, his heart shaking at the agony in Hikaru's faint voice. Her breathing was shallow. "Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I-"

Hikaru let out a soft moan and Yu's worry only intensified.

"Hipp-"

"Track my cellphone..."

"Tsubasa, guys, we need to track her phone down!" Yu cried out, desparate to find his friend.

"Got it, Yu," Wales agreed, switching his laptop on.

"Hang in there, Hippidy-Hop," Yu could feel his words gushing out of his mouth in a wild stream, "we'll find you. Just-"

"Argh!"

Hikaru's blood-curdling scream pierced Yu's ears and sent a chill down his spine. In the background, Yu could make out an explosion.

"Hippidy-Hop!" Yu yelled frantically. "What-"

The signal was cut off before Yu could finish.

"There was an explosion!" Yu cried out, unable to calm down. "Hikaru was screaming. We need to find her and fast!"

"I am tracking down her cellphone," Wales said, his fingers a massive blur on the keyboard. He glanced up and smiled slightly. "We'll reach her, Yu."

"Yes," Sophie agreed with a soft smile.

Tsubasa ruffled Yu's hair and the latter could feel his heartbeat slow down. Yu could feel his face relax into a small smile.

"Okay, found it."

Yu, Tsubasa and Sophie all joined Wales, who sat on his bed and examined the screen.

"Assuming that she is where her phone is, she is in an abandoned neighbourhood not too far away from the WBBA headquarters."

Wales narrowed his eye.

"I don't like the sound of this."

"Me neither," Tsubasa said, frowning as he took his house keys out of his pocket. "So let's go. I'll give Dashan a call along the way. He might still be awake since he does late training."

"And I'll call Julian," Wales added, shutting his laptop off. "He should be able to pick up."

"So let's hurry," Sophie suggested.

Wales and Tsubasa both nodded.

"Yeah!" Yu exclaimed.

???

Hikaru laid flat on the ground, her body eerily still. Grey smoke wafted up into the air from the broken cellphone lying next to her Aquarius, which had been crushed into a thousand pieces. Her blue secretary dress was ragged; torn and frayed on the edges.

Encircling her were flames.

Black and orange flames.

And unbeknownst to her, she was bait.

Wales

"Over there!"

"But that's-"

Wales's eyes widened at the sight just a few metres away from him and his close friends. The crackling and sizzling of flames could be heard from the abandoned neighbourhood and the scent of smoke and ashes wafted in the precarious air.

_Oh no..._

"Hikaru!" Tsubasa called out as they glanced around the area.

"Where are you?" Yu yelled.

Gripping the handle of his launcher in case there was an ambush, Wales glanced over to his side at Sophie, whose green eyes were filled with fear and worry. Wales ran closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Slightly startled, Sophie stared at him.

"We'll stay close, Sophie."

Sophie nodded, her expression softening. "Y-Yeah..."

However, Wales could not help but be baffled by the state of the neighbourhood. Flames were burning in just about every direction, igniting the night. And many of them were not even orange or red; they were black. Black like darkness, evil, midnight. Yu coughed and covered his mouth and nose, his pained expression worrying Wales. Wales's grip on his launcher tightened as he scanned the area for any sign of Hikaru.

_This had better be not_ **his** _doing._

"H-Hippidy-Hop!"

Yu's cry of anguish rang inside Wales's ears. Wales immediately followed the younger boy's gaze and his eyes nearly bulged in terror. Surrounded by flames was the director's secretary Hikaru Hasama. Not once did she make a move to get up or escape the flames and even from afar, it was clear that her Beyblade had been utterly destroyed. Pain and anger blazed inside Wales as he and Sophie both decided on a way to extinguish the flames.

"Cetus!"

They launched their Cetus beys and nodded at each other.

"Joint Special Move: Cetus Grand Deucalion!"

An immense tidal wave slammed against the flames imprisoning Hikaru and in less than a minute, all that remained was hot steam.

"You go, Wally, Sophie!" Yu cried out, beaming at the Cetus duo. "Now we can go get Hippidy-Hop!"

Yu then broke into a run, with Tsubasa, Wales and Sophie following closely behind him. Yet Wales could feel discomfort crowding his heart. It felt... too easy. Why did whoever attacked Hikaru just leave her there, surrounded by flames, if their only goal was to injure the secretary? Wales glanced around and he noticed that Tsubasa was doing the same.

Something was off.

Just as Yu was about to reach Hikaru, the brief yet dangerous sounds of launching resonated in the air. Wales felt adrenaline surge and take control.

"Yu!"

With a rush of speed, Wales surged towards Yu and yanked the younger boy towards him, causing the latter to stumble and fall on top of him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Beys plummeted down to the ground like a storm of bullets, all aimed at the spot that Yu had originally reached, triggering a black burst of wild darkness. As Wales pulled himself up to sitting position, he could feel Yu shaking violently, fear flooding his large green eyes. Wales placed a hand on Yu's shoulder and glanced around. Tsubasa and Sophie were already looking in their direction, worry and relief vivid on their faces. Wales nodded at them as a sign that he and Yu were alright, but inside, his blood was boiling.

_Whoever it was, they nearly struck Yu!_

"Buzz off already!" Wales shouted into the blazing night, his grip on Yu's shoulder tightening as he and the latter got up to their feet. "Stop trying to hurt anyone!"

Much to Wales's surprise, he heard a malicious laugh.

"So you came. Why is it so easy to bring you to where I want you?"

"Of course I came; we came for Hikaru, not you, Hayoto!" Wales countered, glaring. "What do you want? You tried to hurt Yu!"

"Your uncle's orders: _Let the damaged boy slowly drown into his despair_."

"We won't let you get away with hurting Wales, Yu or any of our friends!" Tsubasa shouted, his eyes fierce.

"Oh, but I don't think that you will survive this battle unscathed."

"What are you-"

"Malevolence!"

One of the beys that had tried to attack Yu emerged from the hole formed by the blast and radiated with a dark indigo aura.

"Do it!"

The aura suddenly turned black and it diverged into a million different directions, not towards Wales and his friends, but up into the air.

"Let the prey be trapped with me!"

Wales, Sophie, Yu and Tsubasa all stared in astonishment and horror as they discovered the entire neighbourhood surrounded by bars made of dark energy.

"Cetus: Grand Maelstrom!"

Sophie's command sent a flood of water streaming towards a few bars of the cage, but not even the slightest damage was dealt.

 _It can't be._ Wales stared in utter disbelief. _Sophie and White Cetus should have been able to do at least some damage to it..._

"This is going to be an eventful night: The Beginning of the One-Eyed Kid's Despair."

Hayoto dropped down from the shadows of tree bushes and sadism glinted in his eyes as he was joined by numerous hooded figures.

"I won't let you leave until at least one of you drop _**dead**_."

Julian Konzern

"Wales! Sophie!"

"Yu!"

"Tsubasa!"

Julian and Klaus, along with Dashan and the rest of Team Wang Hu Zhong, sprinted towards the neighbourhood that had been pinpointed by either Wales or Tsubasa in their previous texts. But their footsteps soon halted at the baffling, hazardous sight before them:

The neigbourhood was confined by a colossal cage of darkness and inside were smoldering orange, red and black flames. And all of them knew that Wales, Yu, Sophie and Tsubasa must be trapped inside.

Julian gritted his teeth in frustration.

They were too late.

"We must try to break the cage!"

Dashan looked around at everyone, determination blazing in his resolute gaze.

"Tsubasa and the others are in that neighbourhood. We must break them out."

Julian nodded in total agreement as Klaus crossed his arms and Dashan's teammates agreed without any complaint. But as Julian watched the crackling flames dance through the night, his heart grew more and more concerned.

_You can get through this, Wales. Sophie. Yu. Tsubasa._

Julian attached his Destroyer to his launcher and narrowed his eyes.

_Keep one another safe. Please._


	27. Lilac Song

Wales

The clanging of metal against metal reverberated in the atmosphere that had been contaminated by the scent of flames and ashes, ragged breaths, hurried footsteps and yells amid the chaos. Wales, Tsubasa, Sophie and Yu stayed close as they tried their best to put up a fight against the hooded figures and Hayoto, whom clearly outnumbered them. Clenching his fists, Wales scrutinized the scene, searching for an opening, his eyes narrowed in deep concentration.

"Libra: Photon Pandemonium!"

"White Cetus: Ocean Avalanche!"

"Eagle: Shining Tornado Buster!"

His three close friends all sent their beys colliding against a multitude of opponents, triggering a series of violent explosions, green, lilac and ice-blue light flashing amid the blackness of the night. Numerous cloaked figures were thrown into the air by the powerful collision, their defeated beys flung into the air with them.

At that moment, Wales found it.

"Go now, Blue Cetus!"

"You go, Wally!" Yu cried out.

"Do it, Wales!" Tsubasa and Sophie yelled.

"Cetus: Ocean Hurricane!"

At Wales's command, Blue Cetus conjured up a rapid whirlpool that was the result of the joined forces of water and wind, like the strength of his, Sophie and Tsubasa's beys had been combined. Inwardly, Wales nodded in satisfaction at his new special move as the whirlpool captured every bey that neared it, including Hayoto's Malevolence.

"Yeah, baby!" Yu cheered.

Wales couldn't help but smile. It was because of his training with Yu back on the day when Klaus came back when he was able to create his strongest special move yet. _Your bey has evolved, so your power has too, right?_ Yu had asked before they started the countdown. That had been when he smiled enthusiastically. _Say, so why don't we try and make a new special move, Wally?_

And Yu had been a big help. Not once did the younger boy hold back as he let his Luminous Libra strike Wales's Cascade Cetus in the hopes of aiding the latter. Throughout a fierce yet enjoyable battle against Yu, Wales ended up unlocking more of Blue Cetus's unseen strength and created the move Ocean Hurricane, which was an upgraded version of Grand Maelstrom and a move that was strengthened by gales. This move, however, could end up dealing damage to his own teammates if they were too close as it spanned a wide area, which was why Wales had waited until the best moment presented itself. The moment in which Libra, White Cetus and Eagle were a far enough distance away from Blue Cetus and when Wales had found an opening in which he could assault as many opponents as possible.

"Let's make a joint special move sometime!" Yu suggested as a deep-blue aura engulfed the hurricane of water.

Wales nodded briefly with a faint smile. "Yeah, for sure."

He then turned to face Hayoto, whose expression remained unfazed as more and more of his allies were taken down by Wales and his friends. Wales could feel his blood boiling with anger and his heart thumping with anguish at his enemy's previous statement:

 _I won't let you leave until at least one of you drop_ **dead**.

Gritting his teeth, Wales clenched his fists even tighter.

_Like we'd let you have your way._

"Toss them now, Blue Cetus!" Wales shouted.

At once, Blue Cetus unleashed the hurricane of water, revealing numerous beys that had stopped spinning and now dropped to the floor. Wales, however, felt a shudder slip down his spine as he gasped. Hayoto's bey was still spinning nearly perfectly.

"Maybe you're not as weak as before, but now I'm way stronger!"

Wales glared coldly at Hayoto, who gave him an evil smirk.

"I don't care how strong you think you are, big mouth," Wales snapped. "What I care about is that you stay away from hurting any of my friends!"

"She's breathing."

Wales turned to Sophie, who, along with Tsubasa, had reached where Hikaru laid unconscious. Holding Hikaru in her arms, Sophie smiled slightly at Wales.

"Thank goodness."

Wales sighed with relief as Yu's expression brightened.

"Malevolence!"

"Look out, Sophie!" Wales yelled, sprinting towards Sophie.

Malevolence had aimed at Sophie, whose face was frozen in shock and fear, but Wales quickly sent Blue Cetus rushing and colliding against the dark indigo bey, provoking a surge of blue and indigo blasts.

_Buzz. Off!_

But just before Yu and Wales reached Sophie, Hikaru and Tsubasa, Malevolence emerged from the blasts and lunged towards Sophie again, unleashing its merciless indigo lance. Wales's eyes widened in terror.

_No!_

"Sophie!" Wales shrieked as he pushed himself to run faster.

The lance was even faster than it had been back in Paris, when it had aimed at Tsubasa and ended up releasing flames onto Yu, who had taken the blow for him. Wales found himself letting out a cry of desperation, anguish and fear as an image of Sophie lying flat on the ground, her eyes unable to open, her wounds incurable, flashed into his head, morphed by the emotions that he felt for her. He leaped far and his hands thrusted against her back, his heart pounding rapidly.

_Don't. Hurt. Her!_

At that moment, agony shot through Wales and he yelled as his body slammed onto the ground that bore the scent of ashes and smoke.

Sophie

"Wally!"

"Wales!"

Wales laid on one shoulder, gritting his teeth in pain with his eye squeezed shut as he clutched his right leg. Sophie, Yu and Tsubasa reached him in less than a minute and they all gasped in horror. Malevolence's lance had drilled through Wales's leg like a screwdriver, leaving behind two wide lesions. Sophie's heart wrenched in deep agony as she placed a hand on his shoulder, tears blurring her vision.

_Wales..._

Wales slowly looked up at her, agony vivid in his blue eye.

"Sophie..."

He smiled faintly.

"You're okay."

Sophie could feel herself quiver. "Wales..."

Propping himself up on two elbows, he tried to force himself up, but he soon let out a soft groan and sank back to the ground.

"Wales!"

"Wally!"

Sophie felt a tear slip down her cheek as she, Yu and Tsubasa carefully pulled Wales into sitting position. She knelt beside Wales, her heart writhing in sorrow and guilt. It was all her fault. If she had been fast enough, if she had been careful enough... Wales wouldn't have had to be in so much pain right now. He wouldn't have had to taken the blow in her place. Blood did not stop seeping out of Wales's wounds as he looked around at all his friends, but he still did his best to smile.

"Don't worry about me too much. I'll be fine."

"But... you're bleeding so much... Wally."

"It's fine." Wales ruffled Yu's hair lightly, wincing. "As long as you all are fine, I'm good."

Wales faced Sophie again and smiled.

"This is better than seeing you get hurt."

Sophie felt more tears flow down her cheeks as Wales took her hand in his and gave it a tight squeeze. She somehow expected him to let go in a brief moment, but strangely, he did not.

_Wales...?_

"This... helps ease the pain a bit."

Wales lowered his eyes, avoiding Sophie's.

"Please let me hold on for awhile."

Sophie's heart trembled at his words, at his vulnerability. _Wales..._

"I should have expected as much from you, one-eyed kid."

"You think I care?" Wales demanded, his expression turning furious when he faced Hayoto's sinister grin. "What I know is that you have tried to hurt both Sophie and Yu and enough is enough!"

"And now you've hurt Wally!" Yu exclaimed, his normally-blithe eyes now reflecting Sophie's pain and anger. "Stop it already!"

"We won't let you do anymore damage to Wales," Sophie declared fiercely.

"It's over," Tsubasa said, his voice mild but warning Hayoto.

Hayoto's smirk, however, broadened. "Oh? But do you have any idea where Malevolence has gone?"

Sophie's eyes widened as she and the others all glanced around.

_Where-_

"Guys, I think it's-"

Before Tsubasa could finish his sentence, the missing bey shot up from the ground before them and unleashed a burst of black and indigo aura. Sophie felt herself being thrown into the air, her hand no longer in Wales's.

"Sophie! Yu! Wales!"

Tsubasa Otori

"Sophie! Yu! Wales!"

Tsubasa watched in horror as three of his friends were all catapulted into the air and soon crashed down like broken satellites in different directions. He had been the only one who leapt out of the way just in time, correctly predicting Hayoto's move.

_No._

Wales was slammed against a dying tree, his lips contorted into a slight wince, a side of his lips wounded, his eye barely open. Sophie laid near Wales, her body quivering uncontrollably, struggling to get up. Tsubasa swiveled his head around in search for Yu and his heart throbbed even more. Yu laid on the grass, his face down, nearly motionless. Even from afar, Tsubasa could see the burns that had scorched their way through Yu's sleeves and the latter slowly tried to get up, but ended up sinking to the ground.

_This can't..._

"So Wales, did you really think that you and your best buds could beat yours truly?"

Tsubasa glared as Hayoto scoffed at Wales's weakened state, the latter's bey metres away from him.

"Don't..." Wales clutched his head, glaring despite the pain in his eye and him clutching his head tightly, "... hurt... them."

"But I gotta keep my word, right? At least one shall be dead today."

Hayoto's face darkened.

"And by that, I didn't mean _**you**_. Your dear uncle wanted you to drown even as you live, and I will _**make you**_."

Tsubasa clenched his teeth as Wales tried to pull himself up to his feet, leaning against the tree trunk for support, but ending up slumping down to his knees.

_Wales..._

"I choose that kid for tonight."

Wales and Tsubasa's eyes all widened as it dawned upon them whom Hayoto meant. Sophie managed to lift her face up from the ground and gasped in horror. _No._ Hayoto shifted his gaze over to Yu, who was still on the ground, defenseless as he barely recovered from the previous attack.

Tsubasa started to run. "Don't-"

"Malevolence!"

Hayoto's bey immediately zoomed towards Yu like a speedy serpent of doom, fangs out, venom ready to strike. Running as fast as he could, Tsubasa sent his Eagle going after Hayoto's bey, desparate to protect Yu. The two Cetus beys were also trying to reach Yu before Malevolence did, but they were all far behind. Eagle, too, was too far away from Malevolence to catch up on time, and Tsubasa knew that.

"Tsubasa!" Sophie cried out. "Yu!"

_I can't reach Yu first._

_Not good._

_Not good._

_I must, but how?_

Not stopping in his sprint, Tsubasa could feel his heart race as memories suddenly came flickering inside his head like broken lamps. In that moment, he was suddenly catapulted back to the fateful day in Paris, their first encounter with Hayoto.

_I'm... glad... buddy._

Back then, Tsubasa was the target of the lance, but Yu ended up taking the blow in his place, falling unconscious with a smile on his face. Tsubasa was supposed to be able to protect his best friend and yet... it was the other way around that day.

_Julian!_

Tsubasa succeeded in saving himself from the dark side, but he was incapable of saving Julian from the darkness that had been forced into him and as a result, Sophie and Wales suffered deeply, like it was the Hades City incident on repeat.

_Ugh!_

When Wales was trapped by a possessed Masamune's darkness, Tsubasa failed to save either of them, even though he was Wales's leader.

_I failed to save them... so many times._

Remembering the feel of the lilac band on his shoulder, Tsubasa could feel desparation, agony, guilt and determination all swirl and light up his heart at once, like a storm of flames.

_What kind of friend and leader am I?_

Hayoto's Malevolence was nearing Yu each breath Tsubasa took. Yu tried to move, but he couldn't even pull himself back up.

_What kind of friend lets his friends suffer and fails to protect them?_

Tsubasa gritted his teeth, pushing himself forward.

_What kind of leader lets his teammates down?_

"Yu!" Wales released a yell of anguish.

_I won't be... that kind of friend or leader. That... is not Tsubasa Otori._

Images of the times and moments that he had spent with Yu, Wales and Sophie flashes inside his head and he felt his heart pulsate loud and fast inside his ears. Yu was not going to take this blow. Wales and Sophie were not going to take any consequence of Tsubasa's failure. Tsubasa was not going to fail. Not again. Not today. No way. He could not. He refused to.

"This..."

Tsubasa surged forward.

"This is not my limit!"

As though to prove a point, a lilac aura cloaked Tsubasa and energy coursed through his blood and soul.

"I won't let this end here! I won't... I won't..."

His bey rushed forward, its strength one with Tsubasa and his willpower.

"I won't stand by as a leader and friend!"

Yu Tendo

_Tsubasa?_

Yu could hear Tsubasa's cry as he struggled to get up. Tsubasa was usually a calm and collected person, regardless of the situation, and to hear him yell like this, even in this situation, startled Yu. Yu lifted his face up from the ground and saw a flash of lilac light before his eyes and in a blur of a moment, an explosion rang inside his ears and he was held in someone's arms.

His eyes widened.

"Eagle! Special Move: Lilac Song!"

Tsubasa's pants and heavy breaths filled Yu's ears, and Yu looked up at his friend, stunned, concerned and confused at the same time. A radiant lilac aura now shrouded his best friend and tag-team partner, and he held Yu tightly, as though afraid to lose him.

"I won't... let you guys down again."

Tsubasa smiled faintly, exhaustion and relief inside his resolute eyes.

"I want you guys... to be happy."

"Tsubasa..."

Yu smiled happily despite his aching body, but at the same time, worry flared inside his body. Tsubasa looked extremely exhausted, almost like he was on the verge of collapsing.

"Are you okay, buddy?"

"Yeah..." Tsubasa smiled, inhaling and exhaling as he helped Yu get up. "It's just the energy I used up for the special move drained."

"Wha..."

Yu's eyes landed on Eagle, Blue Cetus, White Cetus and Libra, which had all reached where he and Tsubasa were, and were now clashing against Malevolence. All four allied beys were spinning faster than before and their attacks were now doing much more damage than earlier. But where did they get all that energy from? Then, Tsubasa's rapid breaths rang inside Yu's ears and a sudden realization dawned upon the younger boy. His eyes widened.

_All that energy... is yours, right, Tsubasa...?_

Wales

_You're a true leader and friend, Tsubasa..._

Gripping his bruised shoulder blade, Wales smiled faintly as he tried to not wince in agony.

_Saving Yu like that... was more than enough proof. And even before that, we already know. We all do..._

"Do it, Cetus," Wales uttered.

Yet the battle had yet to finish. Tsubasa was already panting heavily, nearly out of breath, and Yu and Sophie were in no condition to battle properly. It was not like Wales had sufficient strength either, but it was fine. Wales was going to get them all out of this mess. He was going to give his all for them. Concentrating every ounce of his remaining power to his bey, Wales could feel Sophie shift near him and hear her whisper.

"Wales...?"

Blue Cetus pushed Malevolence away from the other beys, sparks of orange and red flying from the collision of metal against metal. Wales smiled weakly at Sophie, his heart twisting in agony. Like Tsubasa had, Wales was going to sacrfice his strength for his friends. But Wales might actually be pushing himself too far.

_It's fine._

_As long as you three are after all this._

_It's fine._

"Wally?"

"Wales?"

"It's fine, guys." Wales could feel his own mind slipping away, his finite energy draining away, as he smiled assuringly. "If this can win this battle for you, I don't mind."

"Don't, Wales!" Yu, Tsubasa and Sophie all yelled in agony.

_I'm sorry._

"Cetus... Ocean... Hurricane."

As the sound of water and wind spiralling filled Wales's ears, as his friends' anguish, worry and fear broke Wales's heart, he felt a tear fall from his uninjured eye before his mind went black.


	28. Left Behind

Julian Konzern

"If this continues, they will only suffer more than they are now."

"Yes," Dashan agreed, his expression grim.

Julian sighed quietly. He, Klaus and Dashan and the rest of Team Wang Hu Zhong were in the hospital, waiting outside the ICU at about 4 a.m. in the morning. They had notified the WBBA about the current situation and that they had found Hikaru and texted Gingka and some others about this. Team Excalibur's leader gritted his teeth as his eyes focused on the broad, grey doors of the ICU, mild anger and hurt searing his heart.

_They did nothing to deserve this._

Sitting between Klaus and Dashan, Julian could vividly recall what he had bore witness to in that abandoned neighbourhood. He remembered the colossal cage of darkness, trying but failing to shatter the bars despite he and everyone else's combined efforts, the flashes of lilac, indigo, black and eventually, deep-cerulean. And he would never forget the dread sinking inside his heart the moment he saw that the familiar blue aura not only destroyed the cage, but concluded the battle. Not because he did not want his friends to emerge victorious, but because he knew the price of that victory. And when he and the others ran into the neighbourhood, Julian's fear was confirmed.

Wales had pushed himself over the edge, like he had dived down the air after jumping off a cliff. That blue aura... was more intense and powerful than Julian had ever seen before.

Amidst flames and ashes were five figures. Hikaru laid alone, her body unmoving, her clothes all ragged, her bey in a million pieces. Not too far away from her were Yu and Tsubasa. Yu's face was streaked with tears as he tried to shake Tsubasa awake, hands on the latter's shoulders. The younger boy's entire body was quivering and when he realized that Julian and the others were there, more tears filled his eyes and he pointed at another direction.

"Wally... gave... his all... to end it..."

His head and back against a tree trunk, Wales's head was downcast, unresponsive even to Sophie's cries, his body limp. While everyone else tended to Hikaru, Yu and Tsubasa, Julian and Dashan reached Wales and Sophie. Crouching down in front of his close friend, Julian slowly tilted Wales's chin up and felt his heart squeeze in pain. Wales's eye was shut tightly and there were bruises all over his face, and his lips were wounded and bleeding. Julian's anger and pain intensified when he saw the open lesion on Wales's leg, crimson blood still seeping out.

"Wales..."

Julian muttered Wales's name again, like he had back then in the neighbourhood that was in flames. Chao Xin consoled a sorrowful Mei-Mei while anger ignited Chi-yun's eyes. The doctor had come out once, saying that all five bladers would be alright, but Tsubasa, Hikaru and Wales would be unconscious for a longer time. And according to the doctor, Wales had been the one who suffered the most injuries and his time of awakening was unpredictable.

_When will you leave him alone, Jason?_

"Dashan! Julian! Guys! How are they?"

Julian turned and saw Gingka, Kenta, Yuki, Tithi and a few others rushing towards them, worried expressions on their faces.

"Hikaru, Wales and Tsubasa will take awhile to wake up," Dashan replied calmly, shaking his head, his arms crossed. "But all five of our friends have suffered quite the injuries."

"They all barely made it," Chao Xin added, scowling. "It took all of Wales and Tsubasa's strength to save everyone."

"And now we do not know when they will wake up," Mei-Mei said, lowering her eyes.

"Tsubasa..."

"Wales..."

"Hikaru..."

"This won't end like this!"

Kenta's normally-cheerful eyes were now blazing with rage and his fists were clenched, tears on the verge of falling. His head was down and Julian could hear the evident crack in the green-haired boy's voice.

"They'll pay for hurting Tsubasa, Yu and the rest like this!"

"Yeah!"

"We'll make them pay!"

As some of the bladers around him swore to avenge Wales and the others, Julian only nodded slightly and then shifted his attention to the window. The sky was a pure black, just like Jason and Hayoto's hearts.

_Wrong._

Julian scowled.

_They do not have hearts._

???

"That battle did not go as smoothly as expected, didn't it?"

"Pathetically speaking, no."

"But we still won, in a way or two."

Jason grinned evilly as he sipped his glass of red wine. Hayoto stood at the other end of the long dining table, clutching his Malevolence. He had never ever come close to losing a battle, but both Tsubasa and Wales had somehow caught him off-guard. After the incident with Yu back in China, Tsubasa's sudden burst of strength was not entirely unpredictable. But Wales giving all of his strength to save his friends? That was beyond Hayoto's expectations.

And also...

Hayoto looked down at his bey and scowled at the chunk of metal that had been broken from the fusion wheel, as well as a few scratches. Wales, who could not do a single thing to Malevolence back in Paris, had managed to deal that much damage to the dark bey. How on earth did that Cetus blader pull off that stunt?

Hayoto's heart darkened like an eclipse. He was not only going to make that one-eyed kid drown inside his despair.

He was going to be the one to watch him _**bleed**_.

Yu Tendo

Yu remembered the nightmare that he had back in the Beyblade World Championship. It was after the tag-team battle against Demure and The Masked Bull (Benkei). Tsubasa had been unable to keep his darkness in check and ended up hurting everyone including himself. Yu remembered the flames of death in that horrible dream, Tsubasa's back facing him, the two of them standing together and the loneliness and fear inside Yu's heart despite of that. Yu hated that feeling, and that dream. Tsubasa was an older brother to Yu, and would always be, no matter what.

And yet... the flames became reality.

_Where am I?_

Surrounding Yu was vast greenery. Trees, bushes, flowers, grass. Not a hint of fire or ashes could be spotted or smelled anywhere and the sky was a clear azure. A hummingbird chirped and he glanced around, searching for any sign of Tsubasa, Wales, Sophie and the others. The last thing he remembered from that night was pleading for Tsubasa and Wales to wake up before collapsing from exhaustion.

_Tsubasa... Wally..._

Tears threatened to fall out of Yu's eyes as he started to run, calling out his friends' names. Tsubasa's heavy breaths, Sophie's cries of anguish and Wales's yells of agony reverberated inside the Libra blader and he dashed faster, his voice getting louder with each passing moment. 

Soon, a slim figure came into his vision before him.

Yu's eyes widened. "Tsubasa!"

Tsubasa turned around and smiled lightly at Yu, but before Yu could reach him, the former faded into howling gales.

"Tsubasa!" Yu yelled.

Yu pushed himself to run faster, tears welling up inside his eyes. Up ahead, he spotted Sophie picking a few flowers from a bed of roses, her wavy blue hair flowing gently in the wind.

"Sophie!"

Yet at that moment, Sophie, too, disappeared into thin air.

"No!"

Yu let out an anguished yell, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. If this was about the members of his team, his closest friends...

"Wally!"

"Yu!"

Yu's eyes dilated at the response. He looked up ahead and saw Wales standing near a pond, its waters pure and innocently clear. Yu could feel his face break into a wide smile as Wales smiled kindly and extended a hand to Yu.

_Don't disappear on me, Wally!_

Yu was about to grab Wales's hand when the Cetus blader suddenly fell backwards, his eye widening in shock, and crashed into the water.

"Wally!"

Yu jumped in after Wales, refusing to let him go. Wales sank slowly but continuously as Yu swam after him, the former's brown bangs lifted up. Yu's heart clenched at the scars and the pale eye complexion that had been concealed by Wales's bangs as he reached and grabbed his hand. But even as Yu tried to pull Wales up, he could not. Gravity was working against him, and it was not supposed to. Not right now!

"It's fine, Yu."

Wales mouthed the words and Yu adamantly shook his head.

"It's not!"

_What you did back there in that battle, using all your power like that... is not fine for you either! Even though we did win.._

Yu could feel more tears escape his eyes.

_We don't want to lose you, Wally!_

As though Wales could hear Yu's thoughts, his face crumbled into tears and he forced a broken smile.

"I'm sorry."

Wales then let go and submerged himself inside the darker waters. Yu gasped.

_No... no._

"Wally!"

Yu shot up, breathing in and out uncontrollably, tears running down his face, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Yu!"

"Calm down!"

"It's okay!"

A warm hand was placed on top of his shoulder, but Yu knew that it was not Wales, Tsubasa or Sophie. Trying his best to calm down, he turned and saw Chao Xin standing right next to him, his face worried and shocked. Beside him were Mei-Mei, Chi-yun and Dashan.

_Huh?_

Yu glanced around and saw Julian and Klaus standing directly in front of him, concern in their eyes. It was then when he remembered that Julian, Dashan and some others had come for him, Tsubasa, Sophie, Wales and Hikaru. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, he accepted a glass of water from Mei-Mei and thanked her before studying his surroundings. He was in a hospital room; a large one. He was sitting on a plain, white bed and in less than a minute, he looked around for Wales, Tsubasa, Sophie and Hikaru.

"Sophie and Hikaru are in another room."

Yu looked up at Dashan, who smiled slightly at him.

"But isn't it too soon to be worrying too much about them, my friend? They'll be fine."

Yu smiled with relief. "That's good..."

Dashan nodded with a smile.

"But what about... what about Wally and Tsubasa?"

At that, the atmosphere in the room tensed. His heart immersing into uneasiness and fear, Yu looked again and gasped when he noticed the figure lying on the bed behind Chao Xin.

"Wally..."

Wales's eye was shut tightly, his expression peaceful and serene. He wore a green oxygen mask and his wounded leg was lifted up onto a brown cast, wrapped by white gauze like his head was. Yu felt tears trickle down his cheeks as Dashan placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We're sorry, Yu."

Mei-Mei smiled sorrowfully.

"The doctor said that Tsubasa should wake up soon, but he was unsure about Wales."

"Tsubasa... Wally..."

Relief towards Tsubasa and anguish towards Wales flooded Yu at once and he felt overwhelmed as tears fell again. Next to Wales was Tsubasa who wore the same serene expression, most of his lower body covered by a white sheet.

"Kenta, Madoka and the others are in the other room." Yu could barely hear Chao Xin's voice. "Wanna see them?"

But Yu's mind was elsewhere. Everyone else was and would be okay, but what about Wales? The broken smile and tear that slipped down Wales's face before he unleashed his last move flashed inside Yu's head and that was more than enough to bring him to tears again. Yu could feel Chao Xin pat his back, but all he could do was choke on his sobs, his heart falling into an abyss.

_Please wake up, Wally... Please._

Dashan Wang

Gingka had gone to see his dad; Hikaru was traumatized; Sophie and Yu did not leave Wales and Tsubasa's room.

Mentally taking note of the past hour, Dashan closed his eyes and sighed. Why were things cruelly complex and prejudiced against this particular team, against not only Team Aozora, but the bladers around them, their friends? He, his teammates, Klaus and Julian had gone out to buy some breakfast for Yu, Sophie, Hikaru and themselves in a nearby café, yet the air did not seem to settle. Even the pleasant aroma of rose tea did not soothe them; in fact, it seemed to nauseate them instead.

How to end this?

Or was the worry this: Was this frankly... just the beginning?

Sophie

Sophie sat on a wooden chair next to Wales's bed while Yu sat on Tsubasa's bed. Outside, morning had broken through the darkness, warm light spilling on the roads, grass and buildings. Lowering her eyes, she gave Wales's hand a gentle squeeze, tears prickling her eyes.

His hand was cold.

"They gave the battle their all."

Yu's voice, devoid of his usual brightness, cracked and he clenched his teeth in agony.

"Wally and Tsubasa gave it their all and so..."

A soft sob slipped from his lips.

"Why won't they wake up?"

Yu cried harder.

"It's not fair..."

"Yu..."

Sophie slowly approached the younger boy and pulled him into a gentle hug, clasping a hand onto his head. Choking on his sobs, Yu hugged back as Sophie shut her eyes.

"Let it go, dear... It's okay."

"S-Sophie..."

"I understand. It's not fair for them... It really is not..."

"Y-Yeah..."

And Wales definitely did not think of it that way. He had willingly given all strength up to conclude the battle in flames, unleashing his most powerful special move, a broken smile on his face, his left eye pained yet trying to reassure. He still went on with the final move even when Tsubasa, Yu and Sophie yelled at him to not do it. Silently releasing her tears, Sophie prayed that Wales and Tsubasa would wake up soon, that the former was truly going to wake up.

Wales had protected them all.

And yet...

He might have left them all behind too.


	29. Let Me Go Back

Tsubasa Otori

"This is what happens when you make yourself a tool for others."

"What?"

Tsubasa's eyes flew open and he found himself standing at the center of oblivion, floating above and under darkness. With fear and dread submerging his heart into an abyss, he glanced around and gasped when he saw the last person that he ever wanted to see. His dark side, Dark Tsubasa, was scorning at him with a mix of malice and disgust, his arms folded, his eyes glowing red. _No._ Clenching his teeth and fists, Tsubasa prepared himself to fight if he had to.

"Just chill. I am merely giving you some advice," Dark Tsubasa assured with a cruel laugh.

Tsubasa narrowed his eyes. "Thanks, but I'll pass."

Dark Tsubasa, however, simply scoffed at Tsubasa's dispassionate tone. "Tell me, Tsubasa. If you were to remain trapped in here because of what you did, would you regret it?"

Tsubasa folded his arms. "No."

"Even the slightest bit?"

"No," Tsubasa replied, shaking his head as he looked into his dark counterpart's evil eyes before turning to walk away.

"So are you saying you're fine with being a tool?"

"I'm no one's tool," Tsubasa calmly replied, glancing over his shoulder at his dark side's raged expression. "What I'm saying is that as long as those I care about are fine, I am fine too."

A small smile formed on Tsubasa's lips as a lilac aura shrouded him.

"Even if I am trapped here, that is better than my friends getting hurt because I did nothing."

He gripped his shoulder where his lilac captain band usually was.

"That is my responsibility as a captain and friend."

Ignoring his dark side's yells and protests, Tsubasa closed his eyes and wished to return to the real world, where his friends, his most treasured people, were waiting.

_I will always be ready... to fight for them._

Picturing Yu, Wales, Sophie and his other friends in his mind, Tsubasa smiled genuinely.

_So please... let me go back._

White light blinded his eyes and for a brief moment, he saw his dark side's scowl fade inside his head.

_Thank you for helping me grow, dark side._

"Tsu... Tsubasa... basa!"

Automatically recognizing the sound of the voice, Tsubasa slowly opened his eyes, hoping that he made it back. _Yu?_ Was Yu alright? And what about Sophie and Hikaru? And Wales? His name repeatedly being called, Tsubasa felt his body throb in pain as he tried to get up, his vision hazy, his lips contorting into a slight wince.

"Don't force yourself, Tsubasa!"

"Yu...?" Tsubasa mumbled, his eyesight returning to him. "Yu?"

Rubbing his aching forehead, Tsubasa's heart slowed down when he saw his close friends before his very eyes. Dashan, Julian, Klaus and Sophie were all staring at him with surprise and relief in their eyes, the latter close to tears. Tsubasa managed the best smile he could before facing Yu, his best friend.

"Tsubasa..."

Yu's wide emerald eyes were glimmering with bright tears and his sorrow, relief and agony all fractured Tsubasa's heart. Tsubasa remembered collapsing while holding Yu in his arms, right after he, the latter and Sophie all watched Wales use all his strength to end the battle despite their yells, and the memory made his heart throb. Smiling faintly, Tsubasa placed his hands on Yu's shoulders and spoke gently.

"I'm fine now, buddy."

"We were all so worried, Tsubasa," Yu whispered, his voice cracking, his eyes downcast. "It has been 3 days and both you and Wally hadn't woken up and..."

Yu 's body trembled in Tsubasa's hands.

"I don't want to lose you guys!"

Tsubasa did not utter a word as he let Yu bury his face in his chest and wrapped his arms around the younger boy. Closing his eyes, Tsubasa could hear Yu whispering his name repeatedly as the latter shook uncontrollably. Tsubasa remembered the agony that had stabbed his heart when he helplessly watched Wales unleash his special move and fall unconscious afterwards, and he could not imagine how much more agony Yu felt. Yu, who had been reduced to an ocean of tears, had bore witness to not only Wales's sacrifice, but to Tsubasa's own collapse and the aftermath of the battle in the flames. And Tsubasa knew how much Yu cared about him, Wales, Sophie and all of his other friends. Tightening his hug, Tsubasa felt a lone tear fall from his right eye.

_I'm sorry... buddy._

Julian Konzern

"Best friends."

The phrase came out as a faint mutter from Julian's mouth as he and the others left the room to have lunch while the doctor spoke alone to Tsubasa. Tsubasa, who seemed to be the type who almost never cried, had let a tear slip out of one eye and roll down his cheek. Smiling slightly, Julian found himself reminiscing the joyful, precious times that he had shared with his own closest friends: Sophie, Klaus and Wales. He had been with them ever since early childhood, but back then, he hadn't fully grasped the true meaning of friendship, of the strong bonds between allies and friends, of their importance. He had only fully understood that when Dashan, Wales and Sophie brought him back to his senses back in Hades City over a year ago. Watching Yu and Tsubasa had made Julian wonder how long had they embraced their bond and regret how long it took for Julian to comprehend his.

"Those two share a close bond."

"Yes," Julian agreed, nodding at Dashan. "This must be what it means when two hearts are one, right?"

Dashan closed his eyes and smiled. "Hearts become one, souls bind together."

Julian smiled. "I never expected us to be having this conversation."

Dashan opened his eyes and laughed softly. "Isn't it quite late to not expect the unpredictable after everything that has happened?"

"Dashan! Guys! Over here!"

Dashan's teammates were seated at a long wooden table in the food court, waving at Julian and the others. Dashan nodded with a faint chuckle as he, Yu and the others approached their seated friends. Taking a seat between Dashan and Sophie, Julian inwardly smiled.

_Friendship... What a lovely serenade it plays in the heart._

???

Inside a particular hospital room laid Tsubasa, who had quickly fallen asleep after Yu, Julian and a few others left him with the doctor, and Wales, who had yet to wake up. The doctor observed the two teenage boys, tapping his clipboard with his pen in a monotonous way, like a dull metronome, like the clock ticking up on the plain wall. He took a deep breath and let it out. In, then out. Caged, then freed. A prisoner, then a carefree man.

He closed his eyes, then opened them.

The warm brown had faded, only to be replaced by red.

The colour of blood, the colour of vengeance.

The colour of war.

"Executing your command, Sir Jason."

Sophie

"Now the only person left is Wales."

"Yeah..."

Sophie smiled weakly at Dashan's statement and quietly sipped her cup of coffee. The black coffee was too bitter on her tongue, and it did nothing to lessen the nausea constricting her insides.

_Wales..._

Sophie could not help but keep thinking of her best friend and partner, who was also the boy she loved. She was relieved and glad that everyone else was okay, but... why wouldn't Wales wake up...? Tears welled up inside her eyes again as she clutched her cup of coffee, sorrow wrenching her heart.

Has she... lost him...?

"Sophie, look out!"

Sophie could hardly blink when she felt two hands push her to one side and she fell onto the cold floor. Wincing slightly, Sophie tilted her head up and gasped when she saw two beys connect, triggering an explosion of green and black.

"You okay, Sophie?"

Yu took her arm and helped her get up as he sighed with relief.

"Yeah..." Sophie replied, slightly shaken. "Thank you, Yu."

Yu smiled before turning to glare at Sophie's attacker. Sophie's eyes widened in shock; the man who had served her coffee earlier was now pointing his launcher at her, prepared to command his bey to attack again. His eyes flashed with crimson light, sending a chill down Sophie's spine.

"What's the problem, dude?" Chao Xin shouted, pointing his launcher at the man, gritting his teeth in anger.

"Brace yourselves!" Dashan called out, his gaze fierce and determined. "He's not the only one."

"Huh?"

Chao Xin, Sophie and everyone else glanced around and gasped. The food attendants that had previously greeted them so warmly were now aiming their beys at the group of friends, their eyes all glinting with crimson. Screams, cries and shrieks resounded in every direction, engulfing the entire area into a state of chaos. Red sirens flared and alarms rang shrilly as Sophie and the others who had not launched their beys prepared themselves.

"Wally! Tsubasa!"

Yu's exclamation made Sophie's worry intensify. If every staff was acting this way... then... Sophie felt the colour drain from her face. Wales. Tsubasa. They were alone in the room with a doctor and both had yet to recover. Her heart pulsating, Sophie gripped her launcher and yelled, "Go now, Cetus!"

She yanked the launcher string and sent White Cetus soaring through the air.

_I won't let you hurt them!_

"Cetus Grand Maelstrom!"

"Let's go too, Libra! Photon Pandemonium!"

In a flash of white and green light, a path had been cleared, with numerous opponents groaning in pain on the white floor. Nodding at each other, Sophie and Yu broke into a run, with the others following suit. In less than a minute, they had all escaped the food court. But what awaited them made Sophie's heart freeze.

"There's more of them!"

"Now what?"

"Is this some kind of apocalypse?"

"Chao Xin!"

"Zurafa!"

Engulfed in orange flames, Zurafa's spirit rose from its bey and sent a flurry of blazes scorching and igniting the opposing beys, clearing a wide path for Sophie and the rest.

"You go, Dashan!" Mei-Mei cheered.

"Let's hurry!"

"Yeah!"

Sophie, Yu, Julian and the others all dashed as fast as they could through the path and up the nearest staircase. They could not use the lift as there may be more ambushers waiting inside and the clock did not stop ticking. Her heart pounding endlessly, Sophie let out a cry as she sent White Cetus striking through more beys, fear and anguish overtaking her, with Yu, Julian and the rest battling alongside her.

_We have... to reach them!_

_Tsubasa... Wales..._

When they finally reached the room, Chao Xin sent a foot slamming onto the locked door and the wood crashed down onto the ground. Without any hesitation, Sophie and Yu were the first to rush inside and almost immediately, they gasped.

"Tsubasa!"

Leaning against the wall near his bed, Tsubasa let out a soft groan as he clutched his chest tightly, his newly-evolved bey barely spinning on the white floor, his teeth gritted in pain. The doctor stood a metre away from him, commanding a black bey to finish Tsubasa off, his eyes bright crimson.

"You won't hurt him!"

Yu and Sophie's beys zoomed towards the battle and shielded Eagle from the black bey's assault, sending sparks flying in every direction. But Sophie's heart was still slamming against her chest like tides against a shore. She turned her attention to Wales and gasped.

"You again!"

Smirking at Chao Xin's angry voice, Hayoto let out an evil chuckle and aimed his bey straight at Wales's chest, who was still comatose. Growling under his breath, Julian prepared to launch his bey, but Hayoto then placed his hand on the string of his launcher.

"That's no way to greet the guy who could send his bey taking the life of your best friend right now."

"Do not touch Wales," Sophie said, clipping every word, anger and pain burning inside her blood.

"I have done nothing... yet."

"Yet?" Julian questioned sharply. "What do you want?"

"I will make you watch him bleed."

"What?"

"We won't let you!" Yu yelled as he supported Tsubasa by the arm.

"He's right," Tsubasa agreed.

"But even if you launch your beys, I will still aim it at this one-eyed kid."

Hayoto grinned evilly.

"Too bad that he is not awake yet, though."

Sophie shook her head, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She remembered how Wales had unleashed all of his strength to protect her, Yu, Hikaru and Tsubasa not too long ago, in the night of flames. So why couldn't she protect him too? Why couldn't she do anything at this very moment? Why? Chucking again, Hayoto shifted his attention back to Wales.

"I will make sure you suffer even after death."

Hayoto then gripped his launcher even tighter. Sophie's eyes widened as tears broke free. _No... Don't do it... please..._ As though hearing her cries, White Cetus started to steer away from the battle and towards Wales's bed.

"Wales!" she screamed.


	30. To Lose You

Yu Tendo

"Wally!"

Yu cried out in pure anguish as Sophie screamed and Chao Xin and others yelled out. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening right now! They couldn't just let that psycho send that bey lancing through Wales's heart. They just couldn't! The ripping of the launcher's string rang inside Yu's ears and tears filled the young boy's eyes.

_Arigato, nakama._

The afternoon in which Yu and Wales drank Earl Grey milk tea and ate ice-cream together flashed before his eyes; the memory was not too long ago yet seemed so far now.

_No, Wally!_

"Now!"

Tsubasa let out an abrupt yell, shocking Yu and everyone else. In the blur of a moment, a bey appeared from under Wales's pillow and knocked itself against Hayoto's Malevolence, triggering a minor explosion.

_Wah-_

Yu swiveled his head around to face Tsubasa and his eyes widened at the satisfied smile on his best friend's face. Confusion and relief overwhelming Yu at the same time, he returned his gaze to the scene and stared at the bey that was clashing against Malevolence. It was shrouded by cerulean and lilac light.

_Could it really be..._

"Buzz off, Hayoto."

Wales's silent but cold voice made Yu's eyes dilate as the Libra blader gasped and spun his head around to face the bed. His hair slightly disheveled, Wales sat upright, one hand on his knee, his cerulean eye cool with anger. _Wally..._ Yu's eyes brimmed with a different kind of tears at the sight of his close friend fighting back, at the sight of him filled with so much life and emotion after being unable to get up for so long. Near Yu, Sophie was sobbing quietly, her wide eyes bright with tears of relief and joy, and Yu found himself letting go of his tears too, not caring that they were still in the middle of a battle. What mattered most was that their close friend was going to be fine. That he was okay.

"How are you able to get up, you-" Hayoto yelled, his face blotched crimson.

"You tried to hurt my friends. No- my **_family_**. And I won't forgive you for that."

Wales gave Hayoto a deadly glare, his low tone sending an icy chill down Yu's spine. But Wales's words had also warmed Yu's heart. _My family_ , Wales had said.

_Wally..._

"Cetus: Ocean Hurricane!"

In an instant, Blue Cetus glowed even more brilliantly than before and conjured up a massive aquamarine hurricane, with its owner blazing with a cerulean aura. Clenching his fists, Yu decided to lend his close friend a hand.

"Libra: Photon Pandemonium!"

"Cetus!" Sophie's voice surprised Yu. "Ocean Avalanche!"

"Zurafa!"

"Destroyer!"

One by one, everyone called out to their beys and triggered their special moves, leaving a scowling Hayoto on his own in the battlefield.

"Malevolence, bring out the lance!"

"You won't hurt Yu with that move again!" Wales shouted, remembering the day at the Eiffel Tower. "Cetus!"

"Eagle!" Tsubasa shouted, placing a protective arm in front of Yu.

Before Malevolence could summon the lance, Blue Cetus and Eagle both struck the dark bey like two swords, protecting Libra, and triggered a massive explosion of blue, purple and indigo light.

"This is useless."

"Wha-"

"I won't be letting you drown in your despair if this keeps up."

"You won't get away!"

Chao Xin charged into the area that was now shrouded in smoke, but when the smoke cleared, Hayoto was nowhere to be seen, Instead, a wide gaping hole had been formed on the wall next to the glass window. Chao Xin cursed and slammed a fist against the wall.

"He got away again!"

"It's alright, Chao Xin." Dashan's voice was calm. "We will get him next time."

"Ugh, man..."

"And what's most important is that he failed to launch his bey straight through Wales's chest," Julian remarked, turning his head.

He smiled genuinely.

"I'm glad to see that you've woken up, Wales."

The reminder that Wales was alright, that he was awake and alive, was more than enough to make tears well up inside Yu's wide eyes again. Yu spun around to face Wales, who nodded at Julian briefly.

"Yeah." Wales cracked a smile. "Thanks, Julian."

Wales then looked around and his eye fell upon Yu. Unable to hold himself back anymore, Yu's tears fell and he tackled Wales into a tight hug.

"Wally!"

Wales

"Y-Yu..."

Wales's eye widened in surprise when Yu threw himself onto him, sobbing with his tears drenching the older boy's T-shirt. He could feel the younger boy quiver as he smiled faintly and closed his eye, hugging him back.

"We were all so scared, Wally! We thought we lost you in that fire! We thought you were never gonna wake up!" Yu yelled, his voice cracking as he continued to stop.

"I know," Wales spoke softly, ruffling Yu's orange hair gently.

_All I was thinking of back then, back in that cage of darkness, in that battle... was making sure that you all would be alright._

"We thought we'd all be here alive and without you! How could we just move on so easily after all the times that we'd spent together?"

"Yeah... Yu."

_But I..._

"Didn't you say that we are family to you? You are our bro, Wally! You always have been and there is no way we wanna lose our bro!"

Wales's eye dilated as his heart wrenched tightly in sorrow, guilt and warmth. _Y-Yu..._

Yu's words had struck the older boy right on the mark, like a burning arrow. Back then, in the fire, all that Wales had thought about was that it was alright if he sacrificed all of himself as long as his friends made it out alive, as long as they were alright.

_I didn't feel it back then, but now I understand that... that I..._

Wales felt himself quiver slightly as he felt tears well up inside his uninjured eye, his arms tighetening around Yu.

_I was scared to lose you too._

_I've always been._

"I was scared too."

Wales felt the words slip from his mouth, but he did not try and stop them as he raised his head to face his other friends, the rest of the family that he had nearly ended up leaving behind.

"Deep down... I was scared to lose you guys too."

Chao Xin, Mei-Mei and Chi-yun were all smiling at him, eyes bright with happiness and relief, the former laughing a bit. Leaning against the wall, Dashan nodded with a satisfied smile, with Julian beside him. Julian and Klaus met Wales's gaze and each gave him a sincere smile.

_Guys... Dashan... Julian..._

Tsubasa nodded with a faint smile on his lips and his eyes gestured to his left. Knowing who it was, Wales slowly turned and his eye met Sophie's. His tag-team partner. His best friend ever since he was born.

His love.

Sophie's emerald eyes were glimmering with tears under the fluorescent lights and rolled down her cheeks, her face a portrait of happiness, relief and fear, which broke and rebuilt Wales's heart at the same time. She was staring at him like him being awake right here and now was a miracle, like she could hardly believe it, like stepping closer or saying anything would make him fade away.

 _I'm sorry_ , Wales had whispered in his head back in the fire, right before unleashing his special move to save his close friends.

Now he was whispering the same apology over and over again inside his head, his heart shattering at the fear in Sophie's eyes. His tears fell.

_I'm so sorry._

Yet Wales did not know what to say to her first.

"Wally..."

Yu slowly pulled away from Wales's arms and the latter let go, his heart soon clenching at his close friend's tear-streaked face. Yu glanced at Sophie and smiled.

"You guys talk, okay? You have to."

Wales's lips eased into a soft smile. "We will. Thanks, Yu."

Everyone else had already approached the door by the time Wales spoke, as though Yu had given them the cue. Yu and Tsubasa were the last to leave and they smiled encouragingly at Wales before the latter shut the door, leaving Wales alone with Sophie in the hospital room with a broken wall and collateral damage from a bey battle.

Taking a deep breath, seeing that Sophie stood frozen on the same spot as before, Wales willed himself to speak first, regardless of not knowing how to begin.

"Come here... Sophie."


	31. Miracles

Tsubasa Otori

"Looks like the wannabe-killers have all gone back to normal."

"I believe that Hayoto's escape reversed the situation."

As Chao Xin and Dashan spoke, Tsubasa glanced around the corridor that had once been simply dull but unblemished. The grey and white walls were now etched with horrid cracks and dents, and the scent of smoke tainted the atmosphere. Doctors, nurses and visitors laid sprawled on the floor or leaning against the damaged walls, unconscious or groaning in pain. It took Tsubasa slightly aback. He knew that the doctor that had tended to him and Wales had been possessed, but he had no clue that everyone else were too.

_It's a relief that Wales and I anticipated that something was wrong._

Wales had woken up a few moments before the attack. Sensing that something was off with the doctor who had begun to act strangely, both boys had planned a defense mechanism together while he was outside. Tsubasa was to use Lilac Song to give Wales's unlaunched Cetus the strength to fight back while the latter pretended to remain unconscious.

 _I have a feeling that Hayoto will try and break in_ , Wales had remarked. _And we will both be at a disadvantage if that happens since we have yet to fully recover._

 _Yeah_ , Tsubasa had agreed. He gave Wales a knowing smile. _So let's take him by surprise, then._

 _You make a good_ _teammate_ , Tsubasa thought, smiling as he walked with Yu, _Wales._

_I can see why you and Sophie work very well together._

"Tsubasa?"

"Yeah, Yu?" Tsubasa responded, looking down at his best friend.

"Do you think that Wally and Sophie will confess?"

"Well, _I_ , for one, hope they do," Chao Xin joined in before Tsubasa could reply. "Do you guys have any idea how painful it was watching those two lovebirds so clueless from the sidelines?"

"Yeah!" Mei-Mei agreed vigorously. "They need to confess their pure life for each other!"

Chao Xin facepalmed. "It's 'love', Mei-Mei!"

"That's what I said!"

"So if they kiss, can I watch?" Yu asked Tsubasa, gazing up at him with wide, pleading eyes.

Tsubasa chuckled with a smile. "We'll see, buddy."

"What?" Yu exclaimed. "So there's a chance that I can't?"

As Tsubasa and the others laughed at Yu's reaction, the former glanced over his shoulder at the hospital room that they had left Sophie and Wales in.

_Good luck, Wales._

Sophie

"Come here... Sophie."

Tears continued to slip down Sophie's cheeks like rivulets as she gazed at Wales, her body quivering. _Wales..._ She had been so afraid to lose him, to not be able to speak to him or hold him anymore, to force herself to carry on without him being by her side. And seeing Wales now gazing back at her with a gentle expression and unshed tears in his uncovered eye, Sophie could hardly believe that he was alright.

"Please."

Wales's voice was hushed, almost unheard. He was looking at her with a pure softness on his face that made Sophie's heart tremble and falter. Slowly, Sophie took a step forward, then another. She had come so close to losing him and it was a feeling that she never wanted to experience again. She took another step and in a flash, she had ran to Wales and was now in his warm, tight embrace.

"Wales... Oh, Wales... Wales!"

She wound her arms around him tightly, tears drenching his T-shirt as she sobbed quietly, feeling the pain and fear of her shattered heart. It was him... It was really him... He was wide wake, alright and in her arms... She could feel him tighten his arms around her and hear him whisper into her ear, his breath warm.

"Sophie..."

His voice was quiet, filled with a myriad of emotions.

"I'm so sorry."

"Wales..."

Sophie pulled away to meet Wales's gaze, only to let out a soft gasp. A few tears slipped down Wales's cheek, with more threatening to fall from his eye. His expression was a swirl of guilt, agony and sorrow as he raised a hand and cupped Sophie's right cheek, stroking it gently as he wiped her tears away with one thumb. Sophie could only stare at Wales's gesture in surprise.

"I didn't realize how much I was hurting you guys by deciding to end the battle myself, by sacrificing all of my strength," Wales confessed. "But looking at the worry in Tsubasa's eyes when he first saw me wake up, hearing Yu yell those words, seeing you cry like this... I knew..."

Wales lowered his eye for a moment.

"... I made you all suffer so much..."

"It's okay, Wales... You only wanted to save us... and you did."

Sophie placed her hand on Wales's on her cheek, feeling his warmth.

"You don't need to be so hard on yourself."

"But I hurt all of you, my closest friends," Wales continued, shaking his head. "You, Tsubasa, Yu, Julian, Klaus, Dashan, everyone..."

"Wales... it's okay..."

Sophie looked into Wales's eye and smiled warmly at him.

"We understand. We all do..."

Sophie pulled her hand away from Wales's and began to wipe his tears away, caressing his cheek gently. It was warm and soft, like Wales's heart was, deep down inside of him. For a moment, a smile flitted through Wales's lips, only to disappear in his sniffling.

"But you know what makes it worse?"

Wales inched closer, so their faces were barely apart, his gaze deep. Sophie's eyes widened slightly, her face heating up.

"I..." Wales hesitated for a moment, and Sophie could see his cheeks turning rosy.

He inhaled and exhaled.

"If I had not woken up... I might never have been able to confess to you."

Sophie's eyes dilated, a gasp escaping her throat as she stared at Wales. Her stomach was suddenly filled with butterflies. _Wales..._

"I wanted to tell you earlier, but... I was scared." Wales's voice was a quiet murmur, bare with honesty and sincerity. "I knew how horrible I was at saying how I feel. And while being afraid, I forgot about us agreeing to meet, and I ended up not telling you. But I do not want to be a coward. I mean, how can I stay by your side and be there for you if I keep running away from my problems, my past, my fears?"

Sophie felts warm tears roll down her face as Wales cupped her cheeks with both hands, his expression kind, pure and gentle.

"Sophie, I love you. You were my first friend and my best friend, no matter how arrogant and rude I was to others, no matter how much we suffered, no matter what happened. You knew me, loved me and cared about me regardless of what others thought, and you have always been so kind, so caring, so selfless, Sophie, and I... I want to always be by your side and have you right next to me. I love you... and... I always will."

"W-Wales..."

Sophie could only manage to breathe his name out. Her heart was fluttering and racing by a million miles and the butterflies were all scattering and soaring inside of her. She had been so afraid to lose him, so afraid that she would never see him again, and now all she could hear was his voice echoing inside her head.

_I love you and I always will._

_I feel the same..._ Sophie's lips curved into a bright, genuine smile. _And I will not stop feeling this way._

"Wales..." Sophie whispered, looking into his eye. "I love you too. I love you so much... Please don't leave me..."

Wales gave her a warm smile. "I won't. I promise."

Wales slowly hauled her closer and she let him. He brought her face closer to his and soon their lips were barely brushing against each other's, sending an shudder down Sophie's spine. Sensing Sophie's trembling, Wales whispered to her.

"Are you okay with this?"

Sophie laughed softly and smiled assuringly at him. "I am more than okay, Wales."

Wales smiled. "Thank you."

At last, Wales closed the gap and pressed his lips against Sophie's.

Wales

_Sophie..._

Holding onto Sophie's warm cheeks, Wales pressed his lips against hers, his heart speeding up as he did. Never in his life had he ever imagined that the events that he had gone through would lead to this exact moment. Her lips were soft, gentle and sweet, exactly like she was. He felt Sophie wrap her arms around his neck and return the kiss, and warmth shrouded his heart as he smiled and slip a hand to the back of her head and push it forward a bit, deepening the kiss.

_My first friend._

_My best friend._

_My love._

More tears slipped down Wales's face as he let himself get completely immersed in the moment, but then something happened. His right eye, the eye that had been permanently damaged, the eye that was unable to show any emotion, let a small droplet slip out of it.

_How did it...?_

Confusion and surprise whirled inside of Wales, but he felt Sophie tug at his T-shirt, signalling that she needed a moment to breathe, and he pulled away to let her. They both panted hard, breathing in and out, staring at each other.

"Wales..." she breathed.

Wales smiled. "I know. That was... brilliant."

Sophie nodded and then her eyes widened. She placed a finger on Wales's right cheek and traced the track that had been left by the tear from his damaged eye.

"Your eye..."

"I don't get it either," Wales spoke, taking hold of Sophie's hand. "Maybe it's because of how much I'm feeling now. Maybe it's a miracle. And this entire moment is a miracle and I've never been this happy before."

_That's all true._

Sophie let out a soft sob and more tears ran down her cheeks as Wales cradled her chin in one hand and brought his lips to interlock with hers again.

_I love you... Sophie. More than you know. And... it's only been you... and always will be you._

Yu Tendo

"Whoa... he really did it!"

"They are so sweet!"

"They do make a lovely couple."

"They are better than all of Chao Xin's dates combined."

"Hey!"

"But I did not think that you would do that, Tsubasa," Dashan remarked, turning to Tsubasa with an amused smile.

Tsubasa chuckled. "I had a feeling that this would happen, and besides..." He smiled at Yu. "Yu was looking forward to this."

Yu beamed at Tsubasa. "Thanks, buddy!"

The group was seated in the food court when Tsubasa took his handphone out and showed them footage of what was happening in the hospital room at that moment, shocking everyone. He revealed himself to have placed a small hidden camera the size of a chip inside the room right before leaving Wales and Sophie inside, to get footage of the love confession. Now everyone was crowded around the table watching as Wales pressed his lips against Sophie's.

"You go, Wally!" Yu cried out, joy filling his insides at the sight of his close friends officially becoming a couple.

Julian Konzern

"Hm?"

Julian's eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight of a tear falling from Wales's damaged eye. That was uncalled for. The doctor who had tended to Wales years ago had stated that that eye could no longer shed any tears. But for the first time in years, it had.

_"Maybe it's a miracle. And this entire moment is a miracle and I've never been this happy before."_

A sincere smile slanted across Julian's lips at Wales's words. _You both deserve to be happy, Wales, Sophie. Make each other happy._

Julian turned and saw the dents and cracks on the hospital walls and inwardly frowned.

_And let's hope that no one ruins any miracles._


	32. Burden

Wales

"Ugh..."

"Do you need to sit down, Wales?"

"No, it's fine," Wales responded, shaking his head at Tsubasa. "Thanks, Tsubasa."

Tsubasa smiled slightly, but his golden eyes were filled with concern as he took Wales by the arm and led him forward step by step. They were in the park near Tsubasa's house, under warm, golden sunshine. It had been two weeks ever since Wales had woken up in the hospital, ever since the hospital's interiors had been internally scarred and cracked. Ever since then, Yu, Sophie, Tsubasa, Julian and Klaus had been helping him in the recovery of his leg by either pushing his wheelchair or lending him a hand or arm when he tried to walk. Wales flinched slightly as his wound throbbed while he was taking another step, but he did his best to ignore it and keep going.

"Just a bit more, Wally!"

"You're doing well, Wales!"

About a few metre away, Yu, Sophie and Dashan were observing him and Tsubasa, encouraging him with smiles on their faces as Wales stepped closer and closer to them. The members of Wang Hu Zhong excluding Dashan were having a bey battle in the same park Wales and the others were in, while Julian and Klaus had a meeting with someone. There were so many people who cared about him, so many friends who helped him step forward despite his pain. Even when Wales could hardly get up from the wheelchair without falling to the ground, Sophie and the others would always be by his side, ready to help him.

_And I want to do the same for them._

He adjusted his grip on his walking cane and carefully raised his foot to take another step forward, a new fire igniting his insides.

"You don't have to rush, Wales."

Wales's eyes widened at Tsubasa's soft chuckle as they continued to take one step at a time.

"But another fight may come anytime." Wales lowered his eyes. "And I... I don't want to be a liability."

"You're never a liability to us."

Tsubasa gave him a light smile.

"You're always our friend, okay? And you've been improving for the last two weeks. And even if your leg does not heal in time for another run-in with Hayoto or Jason, we have your back, Wales."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Tsubasa."

Wales cracked a smile back at Tsubasa. Then, he felt his thoughts leave his mouth.

"You know, I'm glad that you and Yu took that trip to Paris."

"Huh?" Tsubasa's golden eyes widened with surprise. "Where did that come from."

"Just a thought." Wales smiled faintly, slightly embarrassed. "But it's true. I'm really glad that Sophie and I got to be close friends with you both. You are two of the closest friends I've ever had and will always be, I'm sure of it."

Tsubasa's astonished expression soon relaxed into a sincere smile.

"I can say the same about you and Sophie, and that Yu and I are glad we went to Paris and met you guys."

The two boys smiled at each other and continued to walk as they heard Yu, Sophie and Dashan call out to them, as they listened to the chirping of yellow hummingbirds and the rustling of olive leaves and viridescent grass.

_You've all really changed and shaped me, haven't you?_

Julian Konzern

"You don't know what he's planning?"

"I'm afraid that your staff was deemed unable to locate or figure Mr Jason out, young master."

Julian inhaled sharply, inwardly concerned, as his butler, Andrew, bowed down apologetically. Andrew had been working together with the rest of the Konzern family staff and a private detective to gather information about Jason and Hayoto, under Julian's request, and he, the private detective, Juliana and Klaus had agreed to meet up inside a quiet café. Beside Julian, Klaus folded his arms and shook his head with frustration etched across his features, their cups of rose tea ignored.

"I spotted Jason and tried to follow him once," the detective spoke, crossing his arms with a weary sigh. "But that man is sharp. In a few twists and turns, I lost him."

Julian's eyes narrowed. "It's very likely that he is up to something."

"He wants to make Wales drown into despair, huh?" Klaus's expression was shrouded with disgust. "Like we'll let him do that."

"Agreed."

"So would you like me to continue my services?" the detective inquired.

"Please do."

Julian smiled wryly.

"Any information could help with our cause."

The detective stared at Julian for a moment, gaping.

Julian frowned in confusion. "What?"

"In all my years of service for you and your family," the detective hesitated, "that is the first time I've seen you actually smile."

Klaus stifled a laugh as Julian held back an expression of surprise. Andrew was trying to hide a smile.

"Well, you are not wrong."

Julian smiled thoughtfully.

"Let's just say that I understand the meaning of smiles better since the last time we met, sir."

Sophie

"Are you feeling alright, Wales?"

"Honestly, not really."

Wales rubbed the back of his head, like giving that answer was awkward for him. Sophie and Wales were in the bedroom in Tsubasa's house, the latter resting his wounded leg. Tsubasa, Yu, Dashan and the others had all gone out to the mall, which they had not gone to for longer than they remembered. Wales gazed at his wound that had been wrapped in white gauze, worry and pain veiling his cerulean eye, and Sophie placed her hand on his, squeezing it.

"It's just... we don't know when we have to battle Jason and Hayoto again, when we have to run as fast as we can. And my leg still hurts and gets tired too easily, and there are times when I just sink to the ground on one knee. And that scares me, Sophie. I just..."

Wales clenched his teeth, lowering his eye.

"I don't want to be a burden," Wales whispered.

Sophie's heart writhed in pain for Wales. When she, Wales, Tsubasa, Yu and Dashan were walking to the café to join Chao Xin and the others, Wales had suddenly slumped forward and sank onto one knee, groaning in agony. Wales had said that he would be alright, but Sophie could see the self-loathe on his face, the fear in his eye.

"Tsubasa had assured me that I wasn't, and I'm sure you guys feel the same way," Wales continued, still not looking at Sophie. "But I know that I won't be able to give the fight my all at this rate. I might even collapse to the ground and be unable to get up while running-"

Unable to bear hearing Wales chastise himself and be so hard on himself, Sophie cut him off mid-sentence by pulling him in for a kiss, her lips pressing against his gently but deeply. Sophie could feel Wales stiffen for a moment, but soon, his hands were on her cheeks and he was kissing her back with equal ardor and softness.

"Everything that Tsubasa said..." Sophie whispered after pulling away, breathing in and out unsteadily, "is true. Even if you fall, even if you struggle, even if you can't get up, none of us are leaving you behind. Me, Tsubasa, Yu, Julian, Klaus, Dashan, everyone... We are all here for you."

"Yeah." Wales nodded slightly. "I know that. It's just-"

"You don't have to worry too much, Wales..."

Sophie gently cupped Wales's cheek, stroking it gently.

"It'll be fine... okay?"

Wales stared at Sophie, his expression crumbling for a moment. But then he quietly nodded and pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Why are you so good at assuring me that things will be fine?"

Sophie rubbed his back and smiled softly, burying her head into the warmth of his chest.

"Because I know you. I know and love you and always will..."

Yu Tendo

"Wally, Sophie, we're home!"

"Yu!"

Yu beamed brightly as Sophie opened the door for him and Tsubasa. But his emerald eyes soon widened in confusion when he noticed that Wales was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Wally?" Yu asked, placing his shopping bags on the counter.

"He's in the bathroom," Sophie replied, brushing her wavy hair with one hand. She smiled slightly. "He insisted to walk on his own to the bathroom."

Yu's eyes widened. "Could he?"

Sophie nodded with a happier smile. "Yes. He was in pain, but he didn't stop trying and he made it."

Yu beamed brightly with joy and relief. "Yeah! You go, Wally!"

"That's great news, Sophie," Tsubasa remarked, his arms crossed, a gentle smile on his face.

"Thanks, Yu, Tsubasa. And welcome back."

"Wally!"

Wales was carefully stepping towards the trio, smiling faintly, his walking cane in his hand. His footsteps were soft and even, causing Yu's heart and smile to brighten even more. Yu pulled a chair back and Wales lowered himself to that chair, nodding his thanks.

"How's shopping with Dashan and the rest?" Wales asked.

Yu laughed. "It was hilarious! Mei-Mei and Chao Xin were arguing really much about girls' clothing. Right, Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa smiled amusedly. "Yeah. And to be fair, Mei-Mei has a better sense of fashion."

Sophie laughed softly. "What did Chao Xin say?"

"He chose dresses for Mei-Mei that were for people like ten times her age!" Yu exclaimed.

"Oh dear..."

The four of them laughed, with Yu and Tsubasa sharing their experiences at the mall, at times demonstrating the scenarios. Once, Yu looked down at Wales's leg and saw the white gauze that was concealing a deep wound.

_Ugh!_

Yu could almost hear Wales groaning in pain and slumping back to the ground from back in the neighbourhood in flames, in the battle against Hayoto and his men. Worry and anguish dug through Yu's heart at the sight and he tried not to quiver.

_Wally..._

"Hey... You okay, Yu?"

"Huh?"

Pulled out of his thoughts, Yu swiveled around to face Tsubasa, who was looking at him with concern in his gold eyes. Yu smiled lightly.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Yu chuckled. "Just got carried away by some thoughts."

"You're worried about me."

Yu stared at Wales, who was studying the younger boy thoughtfully.

"How did you know that?" Yu shouted.

Wales smirked slightly. "You were openly staring at my wounded leg and the emotions are all over your face."

Yu smiled sheepishly, rubbing his forehead with two fingers. "Uh..."

"But you don't have to be. I'll pull myself together, Yu."

Wales smiled faintly, placing a hand on Yu's shoulder.

"I may not be able to run yet, but I'll try to walk as fast as I can. Even if we have to battle soon, I can assure you that I will give nothing but my best. No less than that."

Tsubasa and Sophie smiled at Wales's words.

"I have you guys by my side. You three, Julian, Klaus, Dashan, everyone... And I know that as long as you are here, I will be fine. So Hayoto, Jason and everyone of those nobodies can just buzz off, because..."

Wales's smile broadened slightly.

"Even with my wound, they won't take us down so easily."

 _Wally..._ Yu found himself smiling brightly and he threw his arms around the Cetus blader, squeezing him tightly. This was the Wales that those who truly knew him knew. Wales, who was strong. Wales, who would never back down. Wales, who would try his best to assure his friends that things would be alright.

Wales, who was super kind and understanding and put his friends before himself.

"You know something, Wally?"

"What is it?"

Yu pulled away and gave Wales a cheeky grin.

"That's the first time that I've heard you use the word _nobody_ on the right people."

"Yu!"

Yu, Tsubasa and Sophie laughed as Wales's face flushed bright red, but the latter soon retaliated by grabbing Yu's arm and tickling him.

"Hey, Wa- Stop!"

"Sophie, Tsubasa, some help here!"

"No, don't- Tsubasa!"

Yu laughed helpelessly as Tsubasa and Sophie helped Wales tickle him, all his friends laughing along.

"That's- that's not f-fair! Stop!"

"And you could have reserved stating that fact for another time!"

"It's not my fault I remembered what happened back in Greece."

"As much as my rudeness was unacceptable, so is your timing!"

"Hey!"

By the time the tickling stopped, Yu already had tears in his eyes and he lightly punched Wales on the shoulder, who smiled amusedly. He raised a fist and smirked at Tsubasa.

"You're next, Tsubasa!"

Tsubasa laughed, preparing to run. "You won't catch me so easily, Yu."

"Tsubasa!"

Laughter and cheer rang and glowed in the atmosphere as Yu chased Tsubasa from the kitchen to the living room to the bedroom, with Wales and Sophie following them and cheering them on.

"Slow down, Yu!"

"You slow down!"

"He's gaining on you, Tsubasa!"

"Go get him, Yu!"

Yu grinned as he reached out and tried to tag Tsubasa on the back. He wanted them all to win the battle together. To always be together for the many days to come. To be able to laugh, smile and joke around just like this. More than anything, he wanted this to last. He grabbed a pillow from Wales's bed and smacked it against Tsubasa's back, white feathers flying in all directions.

"Gotcha!"

Tsubasa chuckled and swung a pillow at Yu, only to hit Wales on the face.

"I'll get you for that, Tsubasa!"

"I blame Yu."

"You can't just do that!"

As Wales threw a pillow at Tsubasa, Yu remembered the pain that they had all suffered together: Sophie being knocked unconscious when trying to free Wales; Tsubasa on the verge of collapsing after barely saving Yu from a deathly blow and using his new special move, Lilac Song; Wales giving them a broken smile before exerting all his strength into one last ocean hurricane to save everyone. The memories broke Yu's heart, but the fact that they all made it out fine and alive ignited a fiery strength too; a consolation that they would all be okay.

_We'll be fine._

"Payback, kid!"

"I'm not a kid!"

_As long as we have one another, we'll all be just fine._

Yu protested and Wales smirked in amusement, but the former inwardly grinned.

_That's... what family is for._

Kenta Yumiya

"U-Ugh..."

"Dad!"

Kenta gasped as he, Gingka, Yuki and Chris ran over to the side of Mr Hagane's bed. Sweat beaded the WBBA director's forehead and he was breathing unsteadily, pain flashing across his face. Gingka grasped his dad's shoulder, pleading him to calm down and take a deep breath while Yuki ran to get the doctor. The past few weeks had been tough for everyone; Gingka's dad had not been unconscious up until this very moment; the WBBA was in total chaos left behind by a traitor; Wales had yet to fully recover for his leg had been severely injured when he and his team were trying to rescue Hikaru; there was no news regarding Hayoto and Jason's plans. Every night, after Gingka had fallen asleep beside him, Kenta would wonder how the turmoil was going to end. What it would take to end it.

_Take it, Kenta!_

Kenta could never forget that day when Ryuga fell to defeat when trying to single-handedly deal with Rago, the moment Ryuga entrusted the Star Fragment to Kenta and ended up disappearing from the face of the earth. An excruciating sorrow wrenched his heart. And Kenta had heard of what had been happening to Wales's group. How all of them -Wales, Sophie, Yu and Tsubasa- would be more than willing to sacrifice everything for one another if they had to.

_But..._

Kenta felt tears sting the back of his eyes.

_I don't wanna lose any of you!_

"G-Gingka... son..."

"Dad!"

"Mr Hagane!"

Chris, Kenta and Gingka all faced Mr Hagane whose eyes were now open, filled with pain and weariness, his breathing slower now. He looked up and focused his eyes on the trio, still panting as he rubbed his head.

"Guys... The WBBA..."

"We know, dad. The traitor got away," Gingka cut in, concern gleaming in his eyes. "But-"

"Did you find H-"

Crack!

The crackling of thunder reverberated into the room, shocking everyone. Kenta reflexively glanced at the window and his eyes widened in sheer shock and horror. Lightning as dark as midnight scarred and ruined the grey sky, the air around them thickening like smoke, danger and terror overthrowing the peace. Screams were soon heard behind the door, along with the shattering of glass and rapid, alarmed footsteps, causing Kenta's heart to race.

"Midnight... Castle..."

Kenta spun around to face Gingka's dad as the man lifted a shaky finger and pointed towards the door.

"The traitor has mentioned that place... once... Send the coordinates... to all... your fellow bladers... They are in... my laptop at home... Ugh..."

"Dad!" Gingka cried out when his dad clutched his heart tightly. "But we can't just leave-"

"No, you... have to." Breathing in and out, Mr Hagane's face, for a moment, cleared to show an expression of steely resolve. "Go now!"

Gritting his teeth, Gingka turned away and grabbed Kenta's arm, sprinting out of the room, with Chris not far behind them. Nearly colliding against Yuki in the chaotic corridor, Chris yelled at his friend to hurry and he quickly obliged.

"Where are we-" Yuki asked.

"To Midnight Castle," Kenta replied, running as fast as he could. "But we need to get the coordinates first from Mr Hagane's laptop."

"Let's hurry!" Chris yelled.

Kenta could feel his Flash Sagittario moving inside his shorts' pocket and he braced himself for what was to come. It was time. Time to get up and fight. And this time...

no one was going to be taken away from him.


	33. Limit

Tsubasa Otori

"Have you inputted the coordinates, Wales?"

"I have, Tsubasa."

"Good. Let's hurry then."

Tsubasa stepped on the pedal and started to drive his car, with Wales sitting beside him with a laptop on his lap and Yu and Sophie at the back. A large group chat had been made, allowing them to communicate with Julian, Klaus, Dashan and all of their other friends as they made their way to the same destination: Midnight Castle. After receiving the coordinates from Yuki, the group had quickly packed a few things like water and bandages into backpacks and agreed on heading to the venue as soon as possible. Midnight Castle was an abandoned, ancient castle miles away from the city, formerly presumed to be occupied by no one. Driving as fast as possible, Tsubasa felt himself tense at the sight of black lightning slashing through the sky like swords, harming everyone who made contact with it. 

He clenched his teeth. _What are Jason and Hayoto up to?_

"Dashan's team is on their way."

"So are Julian and Klaus."

"Kenchi and Tithi too."

"Good," Tsubasa said, feeling a bit more relaxed now. "The more allies we have, the better."

"Tsubasa, look out!"

"What-"

Tsubasa forcefully turned the steering wheel, barely avoiding a man who had suddenly jumped in front of the car. Glancing over his shoulder, Tsubasa gasped at the crimson glint in that stranger's eyes, dread and realization sinking in.

_Not again._

"This is the same trick from back at the hospital!" Yu cried out in horror. "We need to go faster, Tsubasa!"

"Okay."

Tsubasa hit the acceleration pedal and the car sped up, zooming past passerbys and newly-turned enemies with the same crimson glares, him doing his best to avoid any collisions or accidents. 

"Which way now, Wales?" Tsubasa asked, trying his best to remain calm.

"Left," Wales replied immediately, his eye never leaving the laptop. "Then in 500 meters, right." His voice was filled with concern. "Even at the speed we're going, we still have 40 minutes left to deal with this madness."

"Tsubasa!"

"On it!"

Tsubasa spun the wheel again, narrowly dodging a toddler who had been possessed too. His heart was hammering in his chest, adrenaline and horror surging through him at the same time. 

_We'd better leave this place. And fast._

Gritting his teeth, Tsubasa accelerated again, yelling, "Sit tight, guys!"

_These people may be trapped in the darkness, but in reality,_

_they didn't do anything wrong._

Julian Konzern

"Dashan, how far are you?"

"We are ten minutes away. Are you close by?"

"Yes."

"Wait for everyone else to come. We're all in this together."

"I will."

Julian hung up and grimaced at the sight before his and Klaus's eyes. An ancient castle loomed over them, its walls all ash-grey and jet-black, with jagged lines of crimson etching them like scars. The sleek black car stopped in front of the drawbridge, which hovered above the relics of a stream that had been drained of water.

"We are here, Master Konzern."

"Thank you, Andrew," Julian thanked formally, concealing his growing concern.

"So we'll wait outside, Julian?" Klaus asked, hand on the door handle.

Julian nodded. "Yes."

He and Klaus opened the doors and stepped out of the car, nodding at each other as a sign of caution. There were quite a number of groups to wait for: Gingka's group, Team Wang Hu Zhong, Dynamis's group, Team Wild Fang, Masamune's group, Tsubasa's group. Studying the castle's appearance, Julian was certain that it would take a long time to infiltrate the hideout and that they were most definitely going to clash with numerous opponents.

_We need to put an end to this._

It had all started back in Paris, when he, Wales, Sophie and Klaus were attacked by Hayoto, only for Yu and Tsubasa to come to their rescue. Then, Yu took a blow intended for Tsubasa, Klaus was tortured and darkness was injected into Julian; a possessed Masamune assaulted Wales and the darkness destroyed the tournament; Hikaru and Mr Hagane were attacked; Sophie and the rest of Team Aozora were trapped in a neighbourhood of flames; Wales took an excruciating wound on the leg for Sophie and along with Tsubasa, unleashed his full strength and collapsed because of that; the entire city was plunged into a riot of chaos and turmoil. Julian looked up at one of the castle's windows, his blue eyes narrowed.

_In your attempt to murder me, you stole half of Wales's ability to see._

_In your attempt to seek revenge through Wales, you hurt everyone._

_But by starting this war, you united us all as one._

A car screeched to a stop behind Julian and Klaus and they turned, only to face Tsubasa, Yu, Wales and Sophie. Julian nodded a greeting, smiling faintly.

_And as one, we will defeat you, Jason._

Wales

"Julian! Klaus!"

Wales closed the car door and walked as fast as he could towards his two friends, who were already standing in front of the drawbridge. Klaus and Julian smiled as Wales, Sophie, Yu and Tsubasa approached, but a cruel crackle interrupted their moment.

"What-" Yu began.

"Look out!"

Wales leaped forward and slammed against Julian, toppling over to the concrete ground with the blond. A black bolt narrowly missed them and struck the ground, only to suddenly be deflected and jolt up, like light against a mirror. Sophie and Klaus helped Wales and Julian up as the former winced at the sting of his wound.

"Thank you, Wales."

"You're welcome," Wales responded, trying to smile at Julian. But his heart was thumping heavily in his chest and his blood was boiling. _What was_ that _?_ That bolt was aimed right at Julian! Clenching his teeth, Wales held Sophie on the shoulder and looked up in the direction in which the bolt had been deflected. His eyes dilated.

_What... is this...?_

The lightning bolt had struck the center wall of the castle and transformed into two things: a timer and a motionless number. The timer was now at 200, 199, 198, 197...; the motionless number was a 15.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Klaus questioned, his voice laced with irritation.

"Just so you know, Hayoto and I are both watching you from inside this place, our home."

"Jason!" Wales yelled, balling his fists, glaring up at the castle "What do you want? You're destroying the city, ruining and hurting everyone, and you just tried to strike Julian! Just buzz off already!"

"Hayoto was right about your lack of manners." The smirk in Jason's voice was exasperatingly evident. "How you've grown when I was serving my sentence."

"I don't care what nonsense about me comes out of your mouth!" Wales could hear a few cars drift to a stop nearby and doors opening simultaneously. "What's with the time and the numbers?"

"You know something? I could just commence with my plan and let you all slowly drown in despair along with the world." Jason's voice was condescending and uncaring. "But that wouldn't be very... celebratory, right? And of course, unkind."

"And since when are you kind to begin with?" Chao Xin shouted from behind Wales.

"So in about 3 minutes, the doors will close, but I will allow up to 15 of you to enter and try and stop me, although that is preposterous, honestly speaking."

The arrogance in his uncle's voice irked Wales to no end.

"Only 15. And you, my traitorous nephew, must be among those 15. Oh, and the blond that I came so close to murdering had you not jumped in. Those are my limitations. If not added with one extra one that I'd like you to figure out. And if any more than 15 enter, I will have no problem striking the excess down."

 _Another limitation?_ Wales shook his head in disbelief.

Jason laughed evilly.

"And please do comply; it would benefit the both of us. You, with false hope. Me, with pure entertainment. And one more thing; don't even try hacking: you will be electrocuted the moment you try. And... that's just about it. Remember, the timer is not slowing down."

As soon as Jason stopped talking, Wales and his group all faced everyone else; Dashan, Gingka, Kenta, Madoka, Yuki and everyone else.

"I-"

"Let's get all the strongest bladers to go!" King interrupted Wales. "All the Legendary bladers for the win! Then the dear nephew, Julian and a few others can fill in the gap!"

"No, we can't do that."

"What are you saying, Tsubasa?"

"I'm saying that this battle is not like the one with Nemesis," Tsubasa replied, crossing his arms. "If anything, the ones who should enter are the ones who have confronted and dealt with him and Hayoto personally. I'm pretty sure that that is Jason's unspoken limitation. And among all of us, that means Wales, Julian, Sophie, Klaus, Yu, Dashan and myself."

"Are you serious?" King protested. "None of you are even close to being as strong as-"

"Prove it," Klaus cut in, frowning.

"Oh you wanna go, pal-"

"Guys, chill!" Chao Xin yelled, glaring at King. "We have no time for this! As much as Wales's uncle is a deranged lunatic, I agree with Tsubasa's logic. And watch it, King; those guys are a lot tougher than you think. And even if they aren't actually the strongest in the bunch, it's better to send them in rather than all of us getting wiped out in cold blood."

Wales found himself staring at Chao Xin, astonished by the usually-nonchalant boy's serious, passionate words. _Chao Xin..._

"And we have a ticking time bomb in our hands, and we've only filled seven seats, leaving eight blank ones," Chao Xin continued, looking around. Wales noticed Dashan smiling at Chao Xin. " _Now_ we can remove thenut job's factor, so who's going in?"

"I will!" Masamune shouted. "You forgot that I was injected by the darkness too! So I have personal issues with those guys too!"

"Logical," Julian admitted, smiling slightly. "7 to go."

"Me!"

"I wanna go too!"

"I'm one of the strongest here!"

"I want to fight back!"

After several ear-splitting and head-throbbing arguments and fights, the timer was down to 30 seconds and everyone barely managed to come down to an agreement.

The 15 bladers who would be going in were:  
1) Wales  
2) Julian  
3) Yu  
4) Tsubasa  
5) Klaus  
6) Sophie  
7) Dashan  
8) Masamune  
9) Gingka  
10) Kenta  
11) Tithi  
12) King  
13) Kyoya  
14) Dynamis  
15) Chris

"Sorry, Yuki," Gingka said, smiling apologetically to Yuki.

"It's alright, Mr Gingka," Yuki responded with an assuring smile. "I'll be out here supporting all of you guys."

"So the trio of Gan Gan Galaxy are all coming in, huh?" Masamune said, grinning as he placed his arms around Yu and Tsubasa.

"Gingki too, right?"

"Yeah, but he's the leader."

"Don't exclude me!"

Wales overheard the final conversations among all of his friends and a wave of emotion made his heart tremble.

"Let's go, everyone," Julian called out.

"Yeah!"

Wales turned to Sophie and met her kind smile. _This is it._ Smiling softly, he leaned closer and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, causing her eyes to widen in surprise.

"I'll always love you," he whispered.

"Good luck, everyone!" Chao Xin yelled.

"Win this for all of us! For the whole world!"

"Kyoya, pal!"

"Tsubasa! Yu! Guys!"

Glancing over his shoulder one last time, he felt Sophie take his hand and they started to run at a normal pace, his sweetheart clearly considering his injury. On their left, Yu, Tsubasa, Masamune and King ran. On their right, Julian, Klaus, Dashan and everyone else were keeping up.

_Let's go... guys._

The moment they entered the ruined castle, the drawbridge swung up and to a dramatic close. Wales narrowed his eyes, breathing in then out, his launcher in one hand, Sophie's hand in another.

_Let the war begin._


	34. Destroy

Chao Xin

_Man. I wanted to fight with those guys too._

Chao Xin watched as the drawbridge was raised and shut tightly, a light tremor in his heart, his throat dry from yelling at others, especially King.

_But they'll do. Dashan, Yu, Wales, Masamune and the rest of that squad?_

Chao Xin smiled to himself.

_Things will be peachy._

"Chao Xin?"

"Yeah?" Chao Xin looked down at Mei-Mei, who smiled brightly at him.

"What you did back there was pretty awesome."

Chao Xin gave his best friend an embarrassed smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, uh... I didn't expect that myself."

Mei-Mei giggled a bit. "You can be really cool sometimes."

Chao Xin's heart warmed up slightly at her words. _Mei-Mei..._

"Guys-"

"Get down!"

Reflexively, Chao Xin threw his arms around Mei-Mei and they crashed onto the concrete ground, an explosion reverberating inside Chao Xin's ears.

_I thought we fulfilled that nut job's conditions!_

Gritting his teeth, Chao Xin scowled up and his eyes widened at the countless layers of forcefields of black and indigo lightning bolts shielding Midnight Castle, daring anyone to take a step closer.

_He still thinks we'd try something, huh?_

"What's the deal here?"

"That's what we call psychopathic, alright-"

The crackling of electricity pierced Chao Xin's ears as he took Mei-Mei's hand and pulled her up, and the forcefields suddenly flared with indigo light, morphing into gigantic screens.

_Is this guy replicating a freaking TV?_

Then, like a channel being switched on, the screens revealed the friends that Chao Xin did not expect to see again so soon.

"Dashan!"

Yu Tendo

"Whoa..."

"What is this place?"

Yu, Tsubasa, Wales and the other 12 who were with them found themselves in the centre of the relics of a grandoise ballroom. Wilted rose and lily petals were scattered everywhere like dead leaves and a million cracks, scratches and holes scarred and wounded the grey walls and floor. His heart shook slightly and a hand soon clamped down on his shoulder.

"Don't be scared, buddy."

Yu looked up and found Tsubasa, Wales and Sophie all smiling at him.

"We're all together all the way," Wales said, ruffling Yu's orange hair. "Okay?"

Yu beamed and nodded. "Yeah!"

"So are we supposed to crush these doors?"

Kyoya's demanding yell made Yu spin around and his green eyes widened. There were four different exits from the ballroom, all blocked with rusty silver doors. Yu ran up to the door closest to him and tried pulling the handle, but it would not budge.

"It won't open!" Yu called out.

"So let's-" King started.

"Hmm, so it looks like you youngsters figured out the hidden requirement," an all-too familiar voice interrupted. "So you are more intelligent than you seem. Or was it just a lucky guess?"

"We're all here to put an end to this, Jason!" Julian shouted, his voice filled with anger. "We'll find you and defeat you!"

"Oh, about that. Did you notice that there are four ways to go? I can assure you that while I'd like to be entertained, I will not this be easy."

"Just get on with it already!" Masamune yelled.

"I will open all four exits. Each exit will have different challenges to face, and I certainly won't tell you which way is the best one. If you make it out alive, there is a slight chance that you will meet me. A _bare_ possibility. But let me tell you that you will have a taste of death whichever road you choose." Jason cackled. "So thus, I hope you fall to your despair in the slowest, most excruciating way possible."

At that moment, an impact was heard from a distance and the four silver doors suddenly crumbles down like concrete into ashes, revealing dark, narrow corridors. Dread sank inside Yu's heart, but he tried to stay positive, knowing that his closest friends were here with him.

"Everyone, divide yourselves into 3 groups of 4 and 1 group of 3!" Dashan called out. "This is the only way to ensure balance even when we are divided."

"Wales, Sophie, Yu," Tsubasa spoke almost immediately, looking at all three of them. "Let's all go together."

Yu smiled brightly. "Yeah!"

Sophie and Wales smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Kenta, you're with me!"

Count me in too!"

"How about we join forces again, Julian?"

"I accept."

In about a minute, four groups had been formed:

Group 1: Yu, Tsubasa, Wales, Sophie  
Group 2: Julian, Klaus, Dashan  
Group 3: Gingka, Kenta, Masamune, King  
Group 4: Kyoya, Chris, Tithi, Dynamis

"So we're good to go?" Chris asked.

"Yeah!"

Everyone raised their fists into the air and cheered before parting into 4 different directions. Yu looked around at his three closest friends and determination blazed inside of him.

_Sophie, Wally, Tsubasa..._

As soon as they entered the corridor, bars of lightning appeared and blocked the way that they'd entered. The ripping of launcher strings filled the air.

_Let's do this._

"Go shoot!" Yu yelled, launching his Libra.

Kenta Yumiya

"Flame Arrow!"

Golden arrows ignited with orange flames soared in the air like firebirds and struck the black beys, triggering a multitude of explosions.

"You go, Kenta!" yelled Gingka.

Kenta nodded with a light smile and he and his team ran forward, past the defeated cloaked bladers. He had been the first to react when the surprise attack was launched right at them, immediately using his special move. They found a staircase leading to a higher floor and ran up, their heavy pants and breaths ringing in the narrow space.

"You guys think the others can handle this?" King called out from the back.

"You bet they can!" Masamune yelled back, a grin in his voice. "All of them won't give up without a fight, that's for sure!"

"He's right," Gingka agreed, looking over his shoulder with a confident smile, his white scarf swaying. "We'll all make it to the final battle; I'm sure of it!"

"Yeah!" Kenta spoke up.

"Alright then," King said, "so let's all live up to that expectation!"

As Kenta ran behind Gingka and in front of Masamune and King, he could not help but wonder how Yu's group was doing. Yu, Tsubasa, Wales and Sophie. If anything, they were the ones who were dealing with the most pressure; the four of them had been fighting Jason and Hayoto from the very beginning, long before Kenta and the rest got involved. And Wales had to clash with the uncle who wanted nothing more than to ruin him and everyone whom he loved and cared about.

Gritting his teeth, Kenta pushed himself to run faster. He had not been friends with Wales for long, but Kenta was definitely rooting for him. He knew from what he had seen with his own eyes and what Yu and Tsubasa had said about Wales that Wales was someone who would never hold back no matter what, especially for the sake of his closest friends. Wales was someone... who deserved to be happy.

_You can make it through this, Wales, Yu, Tsubasa, Sophie._

Kenta remembered how Wales and Sophie had helped him search for pasta in the large buffet weeks ago and how kind and patient the duo had been. The thought gave Kenta a surge of energy.

_You have one another's backs, after all. And you always will._

Wales

"Libra: Photon Pandemonium!"

"Cetus Grand Deucalion!"

"Shining Tornado Buster!"

Green, blue and purple rays of aura flashed everywhere, blinding the group for a moment. When the flashes disappeared, victory had been sealed.

"Oh yeah!" Yu cheered, giving each of them a high-five.

Wales smiled. "They're all down. Let's move on."

"Yes."

They had defeated three whole groups of hooded bladers now. Wales sprinted beside Yu, his leg now more adjusted to the situation, the pain still bearable. They crossed the abandoned bedroom that was fit for a king and queen, glancing around in case of anymore ambushes. They had been ambushed thrice now; how many more did they need to counter against?

"There's a hidden staircase here!"

Tsubasa had opened a small door, revealing spiralling stairs leading upwards.

"Let's hurry."

Wales nodded and followed Tsubasa and Yu, Sophie's hand in his. The only sounds that could be heard were their unsteady breathing and the echoes of their rapid footsteps. It felt like an eternity before they reached the end of the staircase; this staircase had mre steps than the previous three staircases combined.

_Does this mean that... we're almost there?_

An icy chill ran down Wales's spine, and his heart clenched along with his fists. Awaiting them were immense golden double doors. Yu and Tsubasa took one handle while Sophie and Wales took another.

"Are we all ready for this?" Sophie asked, looking around.

Yu, Tsubasa and Wales nodded assertively.

"Okay. In 3, 2, 1. Now!"

The four of them all pulled the handles, the door slowly dragging itself open, an eerie creak filling the atmosphere. The doors thudded against the wall and Wales breathed in and out, trying to calm his racing heart down. Soon, he felt Yu tug at his arm.

"You okay, Wally?"

"Yeah," Wales replied, smiling thinly. "I'm good."

Yu tilted his head to one side doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

Wales nodded, laughing a bit. "Yeah. Thanks, Yu."

Yu finally smiled. "Let's go then."

"Yeah."

Preparing for a fight, Wales clenched his fists tightly and stepped towards the entrance, with Yu, Sophie and Tsubasa all beside him. They then nodded at one another and walked inside, launchers ready in their pockets. They were now an excessively large office. Frames of faded artwork hung tilted and cracked on navy blue walls and broken fluorescent lamps flickered above them on the ceiling. Wales glanced around, bracing himself for an attack, his eye wide open and alert.

_Is anyone here?_

"Is there a hidden staircase?" Sophie asked.

"Maybe it's-"

Swish!

"Tsubasa!"

Wales grabbed the silver-haired teen's arm and yanked him towards him. An indigo bey zoomed past them in a massive blur and Wales gritted his teeth in anger, his heart pulsating at a quicker speed.

_You._

"So you lasted that long."

Wales, Tsubasa, Yu and Sophie all held their launchers and prepared themselves as Hayoto appeared from behind the bathroom door, the latter's gaze cold and condescending and directed at Wales.

"How surprising. Especially when it comes to you, one-eyed kid."

"Where's Jason?" Tsubasa questioned, placing an arm in front of Wales.

"Is it really that _necessary_?"

Wales's eyes widened at the sudden venom in Hayoto's voice. Hayoto's arrogant expression morphed into a dark scowl and his bey stopped in front of him. The calm, arrogant Hayoto had suddenly been replaced by an angrier, venomous one.

"You keep going after him like you're all some kind of heroes... You think I'll ever forgive you for what you've done?" Hayoto shrieked, pointing a menacing finger at Wales. "You _ruined_ me. You and your family all _destroyed_ my childhood!"

Wales stared at Hayoto in pure shock and confusion. "What did I ever-"

"You took my dad away from me."

Wales's eyes nearly bulged. " _What_?" he choked out.

"You all put him in prison! Even though you were his family!" Hayoto gritted his teeth, his rage blazing across the room. "He adopted me after my parents abandoned me, and then you put him in jail? What kind of family are you-"

"He tried to kill my close friend," Wales cut in sharply, giving Hayoto a cold glare. His blood was boiling now. "Are you really going to ignore that fact?"

"That family deserved that loss!"

" _No one_ deserves-"

"And so do you!" Hayoto was shrouded by a vile indigo aura and he was seething. "I will make sure that you and all those you care about bleed, just like I had! I will make sure that you will drown, choke and die in despair! For what you've done to my dad and I!"

"You're making a mis-" Tsubasa yelled.

"Malevolence!"

Malevolence brought out its indigo lance and sent it windmilling towards Wales.

"Blue Cetus!" Wales shouted, yanking his launcher string with every iota of strength in his hand.

Blu Cetus collided against Malevolence and a burst of indigo and blue towered above all of them.

"Libra!"

"Eagle!"

"White Cetus!"

Wales's best friends all launched their beys and joined him in the fight, making it at 4 VS 1 battle. Hayoto yelled an order at Malevolence and the dark bey aimed at Wales again, only to be stopped by both Libra and Eagle.

"Do it now, Wales, Sophie!" Tsubasa and Yu yelled.

Wales and Sophie did not hesitate.

"Joint Special Move!" They gripped each other's hands. "Cetus Grand Deucalion!"

As the maelstrom rose into the air, Libra and Eagle pushed Malevolence closer to the Cetus team, orange and red sparks flying. The Cetus beys released the whirpool in sync with their comrades zooming away from Malevolence. The whirpool captured Malevolence and trapped it in the rapid flow of water and wind. Hayoto's scowl darkened.

"It's your turn, Tsubasa!"

"Okay-"

"Now, now. This is quite unfair, is it not?"

Wales's heart froze. _Oh no-_

"Devilry!" Jason shouted.

In a flash, all that could be seen was blackness. Alarmed, Wales roamed around the darkness, trying to grab ahold of his friends. He soon felt a soft small hand and took it, knowing who it was.

"Wales?" Sophie whispered.

Wales smiled with relief. "It's me."

"Tsubasa, is that you?"

"Yup, buddy. Wales, Sophie, are you near?"

"Yes, we're together," Wales confirmed, nodding.

"Let the real chaos begin," Jason's voice rang out.

_What-_

And then, Wales felt himself fall into an abyss, the world around him cloaked with darkness.

"Ahh!"

"Yu!"

"Sophie!"

Wales grasped Sophie's hand in his, although completely knowing that it would not stop the fall. Dread, horror and fear all drowned his insides and he shut his eyes, deciding that he could not let it end like this. That this was not going to end with him and his three closest friends falling to their death.

"No!"

Wales shouted, desparate, afraid and unwilling to give up, and a cerulean aura shrouded him and spread across the darkness like an ocean. This was not over, not now, not like this!

It must not be!

"And now the preparations are complete."

Wales could hardly believe his ears. "What?"

The lights suddenly returned to life and he thudded onto hard ground, landing heavily on one shoulder. His aura died away like morning light.

"Ugh..." Wales groaned.

"So Hayoto has told you his story."

Wales slowly raised his head up and his eye met his uncle's cruel ones which twinkled with a sickening glee. Sophie and Wales got up together while Tsubasa helped Yu up. He realized that they were now in an enormous throne room.

"Well then, shall we skip forward a bit?"

From his seat on a former king's throne, Jason made a slashing motion with his hand and a surge of jet-black aura slammed Tsubasa against the wall.

"Tsubasa!" Wales, Sophie and Yu cried out.

Tsubasa gritted his teeth in pain, clutching his arm, but soon focused an even glare on Jason, who laughed.

"Your story is all about growth, friendship, _family_. I should not be surprised, especially since even as a child, you sacrificed your own eye for a mere _friend_."

Jason sounded disgusted, but Wales could hardly care. Julian was his close friend and Wales would _never_ regret protecting him from the likes of his uncle.

"That story is utterly worthless to me and yet you ruined mine and my son's."

Wales narrowed his eyes, knowing what was going to come.

_Buzz. Off._

"So let me end yours in the most tragic way possible!"

Julian Konzern

"Oh no!"

"They're facing Jason and Hayoto alone?"

"We need to help them!"

"That way!" King pointed at another staircase before dashing up.

Julian nodded briefly before running after King, with the others right behind him. The three groups had crossed paths and a screen appeared on the wall, revealing that Wales's group were in the throne room, trapped in a fatal battle between them and Hayoto and Jason.

 _You wanted this._ Julian's heart burned with worry and anger. _Didn't you, Jason?_

More than anything, Julian was worried about Team Aozora, especially Wales. Fighting Jason was no joke. When Dashan, Chi-yun and Julian had gone up against him back in the stadium's underground, they could deal no damage against him, and it was clear that Jason was only showing a meager part of his power.

_Hang in there, Wales, everyone._

Julian prayed in his heart that they would hold their ground until everyone else came.

_Don't let him destroy you._


	35. Despair

Sophie

"Go now, White Cetus!"

"Libra!"

"Eagle!"

Devilry and Malevolence were charging straight at Blue Cetus, at Wales, but Sophie, Yu and Tsubasa had other plans. The two Cetus beys collided against Malevolence while Libra and Eagle tag-teamed against Devilry. The heavy clashing of metal against metal reverberated in the throne room, sparks flying in the beyblading arena. Sophie turned to Wales, her heart pulsing with anxiety, fear and determination. He looked at Sophie and nodded slightly.

_Wales..._

"Is she your girlfriend, dear nephew?"

"As a matter of fact, she is," Wales replied bluntly, his voice cold. "Why?"

"Oh." Jason laughed with no mirth. "So you chose a weakling as the love of your life?"

Sophie's heart wrenched at the cruel words as Malevolence continued to push against the two Cetus beys.

"Buzz. Off."

Wales's voice was calm but deadly.

"Do you think I care what you think of her?"

Sophie felt him tighten his grip on her hand and her eyes widened slightly. _Wales..._

"Well, I don't. And if you want to spite me by insulting her, forget it. I don't care. So if that's all you want to say..."

Wales gave his uncle an icy glare.

"Just buzz off already!"

At once, a cerulean aura shrouded both Wales and Blue Cetus, and the bey pulled back and slammed against Malevolence with sheer force, knocking the dark bey away. At the same time, Libra and Eagle pulled themselves away from Devilry.

"Do it now, Yu!" Wales yelled. "Tsubasa! Sophie! We'll jump up now!"

"I got this!" Yu nodded, his eyes fiery with determination. "Libra, Final Inferno Blast!"

At Yu's command, a powerful eerie green inferno cloaked Libra and shot up into the air, its force dragging Malevolence and Devilry towards it. Not wanting to get caught in the inferno too, Blue Cetus, White Cetus and Eagle all leaped up from the edges of the wide hole that served as their stadium and into the air.

"It's your turn, guys!" Yu cried out.

"Yes," Sophie agreed, nodding. _I hope this works._ "White Cetus, Cetus Ocean Avalanche!"

"Eagle, Shining Tornado Buster!" Tsubasa commanded.

"Blue Cetus, Cetus Ocean Hurricane!" Wales shouted.

With Libra's force almost immobilizing the two dark beys, everyone else should be able to land heavy impacts right on target. The two Cetus beys rocketed down at Devilry while Eagle soared down towards Malevolence, all of them cloaked in their respective auras.

"You think you can beat _us_ with _children's play_?"

Hayoto's scoff sent a chill down Sophie's spine and the latter gasped at the sight of both Devilry and Malevolence easily pulling away from Libra's inferno. Sophie turned to her friends and her heart sunk further at the expressions of horror, shock and disbelief on their faces. Jason was smirking at Wales.

"Drown, my dear nephew."

Jason raised a hand and swung it upwards.

"Drown _now_!"

In the blur of the moment, eight pillars of indigo and black flames erupted up and countered mercilessly against the four beys, triggering an ear-deafening, violent explosion of colours and noise. Sophie felt her body get flung across the room and she slammed against the wall, which cracked behind her, and crashed onto the ground. She winced, her body throbbing with bruises.

"Tsubasa! Sophie! Wally!"

Yu's cry of anguish filled Sophie's ears and she looked around frantically for her friends. Yu was already up, breathing unsteadily, clutching his shoulder tightly. Not too far way from him was Tsubasa, who was leaning on the wall for support, gritting his teeth in pain, his eyes squeezed shut. _Where's Wales?_ Sophie hurriedly searched for her boyfriend and when her eyes found him, she gasped.

"How are you enjoying the show, one-eyed kid?"

Hayoto laughed evilly as Wales tilted his head up, his face contorted in sheer agony. Wales was sitting with his back against the wall, his hand on one knee, his body trembling violently. Sophie dashed towards him, her heart pounding and aching uncontrollably, but he tried to force himself up, slowly shaking his head.

"It's not over... Hayoto."

Wales looked down at the stadium and Sophie followed his gaze. Her eyes widened. Blue Cetus's shield faded away and so did a lilac aura that had shrouded the four allied beys, meaning that Tsubasa had silently used Lilac Song to strengthen them. All the beys were still spinning and every blader was up, meaning that the battle was still going to continue.

"It's far from over," Tsubasa added, his golden eyes bright with willpower.

"We won't give up," Sophie spoke up fiercely.

"Yeah!" Yu cried out.

Hayoto and Jason both laughed maniacally, much to Sophie's dismay.

"Well, youngsters, that's where you're wrong. However..."

Jason got up from the throne and grinned.

"I'd love to watch you drown even further, so so be it!"

Kenta Yumiya

"Pegasus!"

"Zurafa!"

"Striker!"

One by one, the three beys all struck down Jason's henchmens' beys down, clearing the path. Glancing at one another, Kenta and everyone else all ran as fast as they could along the castle hallways, desparate to find the throne room and help Yu, Tsubasa, Wales and Sophie. The last time that they'd passed a screen, Team Aozora's special moves had been cancelled out by their opponents, and the four allies had been tossed into the air by the explosion.

 _Hang in there, guys!_ Kenta sprinted beside Gingka, his fists clenched tightly. _We're coming!_

Kenta could not stand it. The sight of four of his friends all being thrown into the air after a failed attack, their struggle, the thought of losing anyone... Kenta was not going to let it remain this way. He could not let it be this way! The moment another hooded blader appeared from a corner, Kenta did the first strike.

"Sagittario, Diving Arrow!"

His yellow aura flashed in the air, driven by his desparation, fear and anguish as his bey's spirit raised his bow and fired arrows of yellow flames at the enemy bladers.

"You won't stop us!" Kenta yelled. "Not now, not ever!"

Yu Tendo

"Don't give up, Libra!"

Clenching his teeth, Yu pulled himself up and focused on the ongoing battle, his Libra weakened, the corner of his lip cut slightly. He and his close friends had all changed tactics, with most of them thought up by him. Yet none of them seemed to be doing damage at all. It was like no matter what move they tried, their opponents would just shrug them off as though it was nothing.

_This is just like that battle with Nemesis!_

Yu's heart squeezed tightly at the memory.

_But we can't just give up!_

"Yu, do you have any ideas?"

"I can't seem to come up with anything that works," Yu replied Sophie, shaking his head in frustration. He looked down at the battle, watching as Libra collided against Malevolence repeatedly, only to be shoved away too easily. "I'm not a bey genius after all... aren't I?"

"You're wrong, Yu. Don't lose hope!"

Tsubasa's voice caused Yu's eyes to widen and he swiveled around to face his best friend.

"Your ideas may have failed to do any damage, but they did end up protecting us, lessening the blow done to us," Tsubasa continued, his voice loud and filled with confidence. "Things may not have gone the way we wanted, but you're the bey genius you've always been, Yu! You're our bey genius!"

Tears threatened to spill from Yu's eyes. "Tsubasa..."

"He's completely right."

Wales nodded and through his pain, he smiled slightly.

"We'll find a way together, alright, prodigy?"

A tear fell from Yu's right eye. Yu remembered the day Yu unleashed his green aura, back in China when he and the others were trying to save Julian from his dark side. Wales had called him a prodigy back then, and the memory warmed Yu's heart and rekindled a fire. Smiling brightly, Yu nodded and shifted his focus back onto the battle, his mind cleared of any distractions.

"Wally, Sophie, Tsubasa, let's do this!"

"Yeah!" his teammates responded.

"Wally, Sophie, use your shields!"

"Alright," Wales agreed. "Cetus: Grand Armor!"

"Grand Armor!" Sophie echoed.

Both Cetus beys conjured up translucent blue armors and Yu grinned.

"Let's do a pincer attack on Malevolence now!"

Smiling at the idea, Wales and Sophie nodded and their beys both trapped Malevolence pressed in between their shields, sparks flying between them. Yu heard Hayoto curse.

"Let's attack together, Tsubasa!"

Tsubasa nodded and yelled, "Eagle: Metal Wing Smash!"

"Libra, Photon Pandemonium!"

The special moves were activated, and Libra and Eagle both dove down the air in sync.

"Have you forgotten that you have two opponents?"

Yu responded to Jason's smug expression with a sly grin. "Nope!"

In a flash, Tsubasa landed a blow on Malevolence while Libra had changed the course of its fall and sent green photons crashing against _Devilry_. An explosion boomed in the stadium, followed by a shroud of black smoke.

"Oh yeah!" Yu cheered.

"Our first two blows," Tsubasa remarked. He turned and smiled at Yu. "What did we tell you, Yu?"

Yu beamed.

Just then, an eagle's strangled cry was heard and the two best friends both spun around to face the stadium, only to find Eagle' spirit with broken wings and crashing down like a fallen angel. In less than a second, a black dagger appeared in its place and swept violently from left to right, throwing Yu and Tsubasa off their feet.

"Ugh!"

"Argh!"

Yu crashed against the cold floor, the cuts on his hands leaking out crimson blood. He slowly raised his head, trying his best to get up, but then he heard Sophie's cry of agony.

"Wales!"

Julian Konzern

"Wales!"

Julian was ahead of all of his fellow bladers now, with Klaus and Dashan right behind him. They had passed yet another screen and this time, Julian could feel himself panicking more than he ever did in his entire life. He hadn't even panicked or worried this much back when he was being held prisoner by Hayoto, the adopted son of the man who had tried to murder him years ago. His footsteps echoed inside the barren corridor and his bey slashed through enemies with a newly-found special move, Death of Roses, sending jagged petal-like blades in the enemies' paths.

 _No, I can't let this happen. I_ **won't** _let this happen!_

There was no way for Wales to dodge that attack, not in his current state. They knocked down doors, trying to find the throne room, rushing against time to save their friend. Julian's close friend and ally.

_You took his eyesight away..._

"Death of Roses!"

"Steel Darkness!"

_I won't let you take everything away from him!_

Wales

"Are you done trying yet, _hero_?"

"No," Wales muttered, shaking his head, trying to ignore his pain. "We aren't. Not even close."

After sweeping Yu and Tsubasa away, the black dagger had swung to Wales's direction and thrusted and twisted itself deep into his left leg before disappearing, leaving a large stab wound. His back against the wall, his body shaking in agony, he was now in sitting position and attempted to pull himself up, only for his two wounds to burn and send him slipping back down to the ground.

"Ugh..."

"Wales!"

"Wally!"

If it was only 1 leg, it would be more bearable, but right now, he couldn't even get up and he needed to.

_Not now..._

"I'll finish him now, dad."

"Isn't it too soon, H-"

"No, he's lived for too long."

Hayoto's eyes were glowing with a terrifying light, insanity and hatred blazing in them, all directed at Wales.

"And I think that if we kill him now, he'll drown even more knowing that his friends are going to suffer without him. And he **_loves_** them more than anything."

Wales flinched at how accurate Hayoto's words were.

An impressed smile appeared on Jason's face and he spoke, "You have my approval."

Hayoto then grinned and pointed straight at Wales.

"Malevolence: Lance of Despair!"

Malevolence summoned a long indigo lance with its end like a sharpened needle and the moment Hayoto's finger landed on Wales, the lance sliced through the air towards Wales.

"No!" Sophie cried out tearfully.

Their beys were too far away, too weakened, and Tsubasa did not have enough energy left to use an effective Lilac Song. Wales knew that it was over for him. He could not even pull himself up without sinking back down and he did not have time for it.

_You're never a liability to us._

_I love you, Wales._

_Let's eat ice-cream together, Wally!_

_Be careful, Wales._

_You can do this!_

_Overcome this, my friend!_

He could hear Tsubasa, Sophie, Yu, Julian, Klaus and Dashan's voices in his head all at once, and tears were close to slipping out of his eye, a tremor in his cracked heart.

_This time, I'm really gone._

"Wales!"

Wales squeezed his eye shut, ready to take the final blow, to watch himself die before his closest friends and very eyes. He heard the thrusting of the lance, but much to his complete astonishment, he felt no pain.

_But... how...?_

A sudden feeling of dread surged through Wales's bones and he hesitantly opened his eyes, his heart shaking. In an instant, his eyes dilated and his entire body was paralyzed.

_N-No..._

Yu was standing right in front of him, his arms spread out like a bird that was about to take flight, his back facing Wales. The sharp edge of the lance could be seen peeking out of Yu's back and crimson blood was soaking through his white jacket. Yu slowly turned his head to face Wales and tried to smile, but he soon let out a soft moan and slumped forward. Tears broke free from Wales's eyes.

"Yu!"

In a flash, Wales had inched his way forward and caught his close friend in his outstretched arms, the lance disappearing. The world had frozen to death around him.

"Yu!" Wales shouted. "Yu!"


	36. Yu

Wales

"Yu! Yu!"

Wales held Yu in his arms, his hands trembling at the sight of his close friend bleeding crimson liquid without stopping, at the dying light in his green eyes, at the ice-cold reality of the situation. Wales pressed a hand against the wound, hoping that it would stop the bleeding, hoping that it would keep him alive, hoping that this nightmare wasn't happening right now. But deep down, he knew the truth, and it broke him into a million pieces. He barely heard the footsteps approaching and Tsubasa and Sophie were soon right next to them, crouched down, their expressions excruciatingly heart-wrenching.

_This... this isn't real!_

Tears slipped down Wales's cheeks like rivulets as he sobbed silently.

_Please tell me this is not real!_

"W-Wally... Sophie... Tsubasa..." Yu uttered, his voice a weak whisper.

"Stop talking, Yu!" Tsubasa exclaimed, tears coiling inside his eyes. "You can't die here. You won't. This can't be all over for you! Please tell me that you still have more time!"

"Tsubasa... y-you're not usually... this loud." Yu smiled faintly. "You're n-not... Masa... moo... moo."

"How can I not be like this when I'm about to lose you?" Tsubasa yelled, his voice cracking apart. "When I am watching my best friend and greatest tag-team partner die before my very eyes when I still want to believe that this isn't happening?" The usually-composed silver-haired teen was now quivering. "We were all going to battle and hang out together after all this! We were all going to laugh and smile and all go out to get ice-cream together! You, me, Wales, Sophie and everyone else... But now... Yu..."

Yu's large eyes glistened with tears as he reached for Tsubasa's hand and gave it a small squeeze.

"It's okay... buddy."

Shaking his head, Tsubasa grasped Yu's hand tightly, tears rolling down his cheeks endlessly. "It's not and you know that."

"But really... Thank you... for being... my best friend..."

Tsubasa slowly nodded, tightening his grip on Yu's hand like it was the only thing keeping him together. Yu smiled sorrowfully and turned to face Sophie, who was crying quietly with her olive eyes pleading him to stay.

"Sophie..."

"Yu, dear..." Sophie gently stroked Yu's hair, her voice laced with so much pain, "we're so sorry..."

"It's okay... Don't be." Yu smiled and tears slipped down his pallid face. "You've always been so loving and caring towards me... Sophie. Please... take care of Tsubasa and Wally for me... when I'm gone... okay...?"

"I will, dear, but..." Sophie closed her eyes tightly, tears falling, "I w-wanted to take care-"

"And I wanted... to be taken care of... by you too..."

More tears fell from Sophie's eyes as Yu finally turned his head towards Wales. Wales could feel more tears breaking through his eyes, but it wasn't like he gave that a single shred of care.

 _Forget pride!_ Wales shouted in his mind. _Forget Malevolence, forget that lance of whatever, let all of that buzz off! Just please... please... reverse time... reverse it... for Yu... I'd give anything for that, so please..."_

"Wally?"

Wales tightened his grip on Yu as he managed to choke out a "Yes?"

"Can you do me one last... favor?"

"Anything. Name it."

"Can you please lift the hair... that's covering your right eye... just for awhile... W-Wally?"

"Okay."

Wales carefully collected the light brown hair that covered his right eye in one hand and pulled it up, revealing his damaged eye that was for the second time in his life ever since it had been stabbed, filled with tears.

"Wally... even after what's happened to it... it's always been kind..."

Wales's eyes widened as more tears flowed out of his eyes. "Y-Yu..."

"Y-You've always been... so hard on yourself... hiding your pain away from us... trying to push through on your own... And you know... I've always wanted you to just... let us in. Tell us, let us help you..." Yu smiled as he spoke softly. "Wally... you're super kind and cool and loyal and your eyes show it... no matter what other people say... And I want to always... be there for you..."

Wales sobbed, tears dripping onto Yu's trembling body. "You've always been there for me, Yu..." He tried his best to smile despite the shattering of his aching heart. "You... always have been..."

Yu's smile brightened a bit. "And you have done the same for me... You all have..."

Bang!

The doors crashed down to the ground, followed by King's yell. "Guys! Guys!"

"Wally, Sophie, Tsubasa... please... always... keep one another... safe... okay...? Please... take care of Libra... and tell... Gingki, Kenchi and the others that I said goodbye... okay? I look forward... to a happy reunion..."

"Yu..." Wales, Tsubasa and Sophie whispered as a storm of footfalls came from behind.

"You guys..." Yu's lips curved into a peaceful smile, "are the best..."

In less than a fleeting moment, Yu's once-blithe emerald eyes fell to a complete close, the once-cheerful boy finished saying the last words that he got to utter.

"Y-Yu..."

Wales remembered how shocked he had been when Yu first called him Wally, how he used to view Yu as an annoying, incompetent blader who had no idea when to buzz off. But... he ended up getting used to the nickname and loving the kid as a little brother, a best friend, anyway... Yu's bright smile, his laugh, his encouragements and excited yells. his cheers... They had all lit up the world around Wales like a sun and he could hardly believe that this was it. That Yu was gone. Too soon. Because he sacrificed himself to protect Wales. Wales meant it when he said that Yu had always been there for him. Yu had been there for him until the very end. Wales could hear his enemies' cruel laughter and Gingka, Julian and others calling out to him, Yu, Sophie and Tsubasa, but he did not care. He let his tears go as he hugged Yu as tightly as he could, sobbing into the boy's shoulder, his heart drowning and dying inside of his chest.

_Let's have ice-cream for breakfast, guys!_

_Are you okay, Wally?_

_Libra, shield Cetus now!_

_Tsubasa, Wally, Sophie, let's do this together now!_

_I want to always... be there for you..._

_I look forward... to a happy reunion..._

_You guys... are the best._

_Wally!_

"Yu... Yu..." Wales whispered Yu's name over and over again, tears falling. not caring who heard him.

_Please... don't go... please..._

Julian Konzern

_It's a miracle that his eye could even shed a single tear._

"Hm?"

Julian raised his eyebrow as he waited for the doctor's reply over the phone. It was a day after Wales confessed to Sophie, after a tear had fallen out of his damaged eye. While Wales was training himself to walk properly again, with Yu, Tsubasa, Klaus and Sophie helping him, Julian had contacted the doctor who had treated Wales's eye years ago when the latter had been stabbed. Julian had been puzzled, as well as incredibly curious.

"I've come to believe that perhaps the most powerful of emotions pushed through the constraints," the doctor continued. "The boy whom I treated years ago had severe trouble expressing emotions such as happiness and grief openly, so I believe that a major change had brought him a miracle."

_Wales and Sophie confessing their love for each other was a moment of pure happiness... but this..._

Julian felt tears building up behind his eyes as he watched Wales, Tsubasa, Tithi and many others mourn Yu.

_This is sheer grief._

Granted, Julian was not close to Yu. But he had always felt a radiant spirit flowing deep inside that boy, even before they became friends. And this was the same boy who had transformed Wales into a stronger, braver and kinder person and saved the latter from certain death, and Julian could not be more grateful for that. Julian felt the first tear slip and Dashan and Klaus were on the verge of tears next to him. The air around them was dead like wilted rose petals, all of them in mourning.

_What an atrocious, broken melody._

Tsubasa Otori

Tsubasa closed his eyes, reminiscing his countless moments and greatest adventures and battles with his best friend Yu. No matter what happened, no matter who came, Yu had always been his closest friend, his younger brother. The two of them had explored different countries together, won countless battles alongside each other, stood up for each other and had each other's backs.

_Let's get 'em, Tsubasa!_

Yu wasn't only a tag-team partner; he was an irreplacable one.

_Aim for that opening now, Tsubasa!_

He was not only a kid; he was a bright genius.

_Beyblade is a fierce clash of emotions with your opponent!_

Nor was he only a blader; he was filled with a spirit deeper than most in existence had.

_Thank you... for being... my best friend..._

He was not only a friend; he was the brother that Tsubasa never had.

More tears dripped from Tsubasa's eyes as he gave Yu's cold hand a tight squeeze, wishing that Yu would wake up and smile again. That this wasn't happening. That this _couldn't_ be happening.

But now he was gone.

Kenta Yumiya

"Yu...? Yu?"

Kenta found himself sprinting as fast as his legs could afford to and in a flash, he was down on the ground, staring at Yu's limp body in Wales's arms. "Yu! Wake up, Yu! Wake up!" Kenta could feel the screams escaping his aching throat as he pleaded, tears running down his cheeks, a crack of a smile on his close friend's face. He felt himself being catapulted back to the time when he helplessly watched Ryuga brutally murdered in the hands of Rago, undefeatable yet defeated.

_Kenchi! Kenchi!_

_Will you battle with me again sometime?_

_Show everyone how cool you are. Show me and Libra!_

_You can do it, Kenchi!_

His heart falling into an abyss, Kenta felt like he was losing everything that mattered to him all over again. Yu was a precious friend ; he mattered way more than Kenta could put into words. Kenta thought of how Yu had aided him when he was injured in the Survival Battle, how they became friends, how Yu had rooted for Kenta all the way and entrusted Libra to him during the match against Reiji in Battle Bladers, how Yu had always been there to make him laugh and cheer him up. Tithi was sobbing beside him and Kenta felt Gingka pull him into a tight hug as he cried his heart out.

_I couldn't save both you and Ryuga..._

_I'm so sorry, Yu..._

Chao Xin

"How... could this be happening?"

Chao Xin shut his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth as he let a sobbing Mei-Mei bury her face into his chest and wrapped his arms around her. Yu didn't deserve this! After all that he had been through, after all that he had done for those he cared about, how was it fair that his life was stolen away from him just like that? Chao Xin could feel droplets slide down his cheeks as his shirt was dampened with his best friend's tears. He could hardly watch what was happening on the screen right now. Almost everyone of his comrades were in tears in that throne room, even Dashan and Kyoya, and Yu was no longer breathing.

_Bro..._

Yu was not one of Chao Xin's closest friends, but he was a true friend that he and the rest of Team Wang Hu Zhong had always been fond of. Yu was a light even when everyone was struggling to fight back. Chao Xin had wanted to get to know the kid better, to keep holding onto that light that never seemed to die away. But now it was too late for that.

_You're a hero... bro. You'll always be a hero..._

Sophie

_Rest in peace... Yu._

Sophie looked down at Yu's closed eyes and peaceful expression with a pained smile as she tucked his hair behind his ear. It reminded Sophie of all the times that she and Wales would carry the young boy back onto his bed after he had fallen onto the ground, after they had woken up and were brewing their tea. He had always looked and been so innocent. Pure at heart, overflowing with kindness, glowing like the sun. Her heart was broken knowing that their time together had abruptly come to an end in the cruellest way possible, even though they had both thought that it was nowhere near over.

_When we meet again, we'll all be there... to see you..._

Sophie smiled slightly, tears dropping onto his sleeve.

_And I hope... that you'll be smiling brightly again..._


	37. Flash

Wales

"Yu."

Wales looked down at his left hand, which was stained with Yu's blood from when he was trying to stop the latter's bleeding. Most of the tears had dried on his cheeks, but there were still tears stinging in his eyes. Wales blinked them away and gently laid Yu on the cold floor, knowing what he had to do next.

_Remember the last time I promised you something? Back when you still had yet to know much about my right eye?_

Wales gave the younger boy's shoulder one last squeeze before Tsubasa and Sophie helped him get up onto his feet.

_This time, I promise you this. We will win this battle for you. Sophie, Tsubasa, Julian, me, everyone else... We're fighting for you._

Wales retrieved his Blue Cetus, with Tsubasa and Sophie doing the same. Taking a step back, he stumbled slightly, his wounds still throbbing in agony, but Tsubasa clamped a hand onto his shouler and smiled a bit. Wales nodded briefly, his smile as ephemeral.

_We all are. Until the very end._

"If it makes you feel better, we can all hold a larger funeral."

Wales gritted his teeth and spun around to face Hayoto, who cackled at him.

"One with big explosions and of course, a whole lot more corpses besides that useless kid-"

"Buzz off!" Wales shouted, anger and anguish spinning inside his heart like a hurricane of flames. "You killed Yu! You killed one of the best friends we've ever had! He didn't deserve it and you know it!"

"Such indecency," Jason remarked nonchalantly, shaking his head with a cruel grin. "That blow was intended for _you_ , not-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!"

Tsubasa's voice was crisp and fierce, laced with warning, and his eyes were flashing with a foreign rage.

"You tried to kill Wales and ended up killing Yu in the process. Don't you dare pin the blame on Wales when it's clearly your fault! You made this happen; you took our brother away from us!"

"He's right," Sophie agreed, her voice mild with fury. "We will make sure that you are held responsible for all that has happened here!"

Jason let out a condescending laugh. "So you are still trying. How foolish..."

"Shut up and stop laughing already!"

Masamune wiped his tears away and pointed his launcher at Jason with a furious look.

"Yu was our friend! Even when I was so rude to him, so cocky to him, made fun of him, he still wanted to be my friend." A wave of sorrow and guilt swept across Masamune's face and for a moment, Wales thought that Masamune was about to break down. "There was so much that I had yet to tell him; I haven't even apologized to him. And now... that chance is all gone. It's all gone because of you both! Yu is gone because of you!"

"I promised him," Kenta spoke, "I promised that we'd battle again sometime back in Battle Bladers. I thought that we'd battling over and over again for the many years to come. And yet... it's... over." Kenta clenched his teeth, looking down, trying hard to not cry. "It's over. Why...?"

_Masamune... Kenta..._

"Ten years ago, you tried to murder me and you damaged Wales's right eye. This time, you tried to murder him and ended up slaying our friend." Julian's voice was as cold as ice. "And right now, all of us have one goal in mind: to defeat you and make you pay for all of this!"

"Guys, get ready!" Gingka yelled.

Everyone attached their beys to their launchers and Wales noticed something. Yu's Libra had not been retrieved. _Yu... Libra..._ Slowly, Wales extended a hand down to the stadium and somehow Luminous Libra approached him, jumped up and landed on his hand, even though he was not its owner.

_Huh? It really... came?_

"That's the first time I've seen a bey reach for someone who is not its owner."

Beside him, Tsubasa spoke, his eyes filled with mild surprise and curiosity. Wales nodded briefly and then held Libra out to Tsubasa.

"Keep Libra, Tsubasa."

Tsubasa's eyes widened. "What? Why me?"

"Because you're Yu's best friend." Wales smiled slightly. "I may have been the one who reached out to Libra, but I'm sure that if anything, Libra trusts you the most. Because you're Yu's closest friend. I'm sure that it's what Yu wants."

"Wales..."

Tsubasa stared at Wales for a moment before his expression eased into a small smile and he took Libra from Wales's hand. "Okay then. Thank you, Wales."

Wales nodded. "Yeah."

"So guys, are we all ready?"

"Yeah!" everyone else, including Wales, answered Masamune's yell.

"Let's win this for Yu!" Tsubasa called out.

"Yeah! So 3!"

_Yu..._

"2!"

_If you're watching this..._

"1!"

Wales felt another tear fall from his right eye. _I hope you stay with us until the very end._

"Go shoot!"

Tsubasa Otori

There were now 16 beys zooming in the stadium, 2 on one team, 14 on another.

"Striker: Lightning Sword Flash!"

"I'm right behind you, Masamune!"

"Let's beat 'em both up!"

"We need to be careful, guys!" Tsubasa called out as Masamune, Kenta and King launched the first attack. "They have massive attacks and defenses that can blow you away!"

"That much was already anticipated after all that has happened," Dashan remarked, giving Tsubasa an assuring smile. "But your warning is much appreciated."

Tsubasa nodded briefly as Striker, Variares and Sagittario struck Malevolence at the same time, with Pegasus, Leone and Quetzacoatl clashed against Devilry.

"However... we have a problem."

Tsubasa frowned, knowing what Dashan's concern was. "There are too many beys."

The 6 attacking beys were all knocked away, and Leone almost crashed against Tsubasa's Eagle. His heart jumped and thudded against his chest.

"Yes." Dashan's eyes were narrowed in concern. "We need to combine everyone's strengths to win this battle, but we will be unable to do so if this continues."

"Yeah."

Observing the situation, Tsubasa was unsure if he would even have the chance to attack soon. 6 beys were on offense right now, but what about the other 9, including himself, Wales, Dashan and Sophie? It was clear from Tsubasa's vantage that the 6 attacking beys were doing close to nothing to Devilry and Malevolence, and this mase Tsubasa's heart thump with worry.

_We need a plan. And as soon as we can._

At the thought of coming up with a strategy, a memory resurfaced in Tsubasa's mind and he felt a wave of sorrow cross his heart.

_Even though... we are missing a bey genius._

"If anything, we need to merge our beys."

"Merge our beys?" Tsubasa repeated, him and Dashan turning to look at Wales, whose eye was narrowed.

"That's the only way that the 14 of us can truly exert all of our strength at the same time," Wales continued. His face held a look of concern and contemplation. "7 of us against Hayoto and 7 of us against Jason, or all 14 against both. But the problem is how."

Tsubasa let the gears of his mind grind, trying to sift through the ideas in his head. _We can't let this keep up._ He felt Yu's Libra move inside his trousers' pocket. He took it out of his pocket and held the green bey in his hand, remembering how his best friend had used tactic after tactic to guide him and his friends to victory.

_What would you do, Yu?_

As Tsubasa pondered hard, memories of the young bey genius who had been his closest friend flashing inside his mind, out of a sudden, a pillar of green light rose up from Libra on his palm, up into the air, like an awoken sword.

Tsubasa had no clue as to what the explanation was.

"Tsubasa, what happened?" Wales asked, his voice filled with shock and confusion.

All eyes were on him now. Tsubasa could only say, "I don't know," and stare at the luminous green bey before his eyes. _Libra reached out to Wales... and then... it suddenly shone on my palm... What is happening? Is it trying to do something?_

The pillar then burst into flashes of white and green light, blinding everyone's eyes.

"Wah!"

"Ahh!"

Tsubasa shielded his eyes with his arm, trying to squint.

 _Or is it_ you _trying to reach out to us... Yu?"_

Kenta Yumiya

The moment Kenta saw Yu's Libra unleash that pillar of green light, he realized something. Even after Ryuga had been killed after his defeat, he had managed to get back on his feet, his eyes awake and alive, and give his L-Drago's Star Fragment to Kenta before disappearing into fading blue lights. But Yu had not appeared before them.

Was this... when it was going to happen?

Kenta winced slightly as his eyes stung from the brightness of the green and white lights. _Are you there, Yu?_ His heart thumping loudly inside his chest, Kenta did his best to keep his eyes open and try and spot his close friend. _Please call out to us!_ But the light was too bright and he could hear his friends groaning in pain and Yu's voice was nowhere to be heard.

_Yu? Yu?_

Not much later, the lights dimmed and faded away and Kenta hesitantly opened his eyes. _What... happened?_ He quickly glanced around, trying to grasp the situation. _It can't just be nothing, right?_ A few gasps reached his ears and beside him, Gingka was staring at something in shock. Confused, Kenta followed his best friend's eyes, wondering what was going on.

His eyes widened as a gasp escaped his throat.

Wales

For some reason, Wales was breathing heavily, like he had just been running for miles, like he had been beyblading for hours without a break. When the green and white lights flashed, Wales had felt a rush of energy break into and surge through his body like a million tidal waves. His mind was a kaleidoscope of flickering memories of Yu, Sophie, Julian, Tsubasa, Klaus, Dashan, all of the friends that he considered family, of the world that he had lived, breathed, smiled and suffered in and seen mostly with one working eye. He remembered his mistakes, his fears, his doubts, his carelessness, but he also knew that his family loved him for all of him; not just his flaws, but his kindness, his laughs and smiles, his courage, all that he was and would always be.

 _Why... Why am I remembering all of this now?_ Wales thought, filled with whirling bewilderment and confusion.

When the light finally died away and he slowly opened his eyes, Wales immediately noticed that something felt off, out of place. Something that was not here before suddenly existed, came to life, but what was it? His thoughts were confirmed when he heard Sophie, Tsubasa and a few others gasp and in a brief moment, all eyes were on him, wide with shock, disbelief and awe. He looked at Sophie and spoke.

"Did something happen to me?"

Sophie nodded quietly and whispered, "Look into this mirror."

She pulled out a mirror from her small white sling bag and gave it to Wales, who nodded slightly, although he got even more puzzled. With a quivering hand, Wales took the compact mirror and inhaled. A thought then struck him like a dagger and he froze. It could not be. No, it was impossible; he must be imagining things. He was shaking even more, even when Tsubasa placed a hand on Wales's back and Sophie squeezed his arm. No, it was not what he thought he was. No, it was not. It was not! Exhaling, Wales slowly raised the mirror and looked straight at the reflection of his face.

Wales's heart stopped, missed a beat, like a suddenly-abandoned instrument.

His eyes dilated.

He would be unable to stand up straight if Tsubasa and Sophie were not here supporting him. He stared at the mirror, pondering over whether this was real or his imagination had overlapped with reality. The long brown bangs that had once covered his damaged right eye were gone, like they never existed in the first place. He had suspected this when he noticed how his vision seemed to have sharpened like a camera's lens and broadened like a black backdrop had been lifted, but he could not believe it. Even the doctors had been unable to fix him, cure him, so how was this possible? Wales's left eye was the same as always, but his right eye... Wales was no longer half-blind. After 10 years of being half-blind and covering an eye with his bangs, that time had come to an end. All the scars surrounding that eye had disappeared, leaving Wales's skin unblemished. Wales carefully touched the skin near the eye, a lump caught inside his throat.

His right eye was able to see. And Wales no longer had one working eye and one damaged one.

He had two working eyes. A blue left eye...

and a turquoise right one.

Both blue and green at the same time.

Blue like the ocean, green like nature.

_Green..._

"Wally! I really hope you like my gift!"

A voice suddenly spoke, cheerful and bright like Wales remembered it. Wales's eyes widened, his heart quivering like a leaf in a storm. _Please tell me this is real, that I did not make this up. Please._ Daring to hope, Wales spun around, not caring how much his wounds ached, and found himself looking into the eyes of someone whom he thought he'd never get to speak to on this earth again. The sight of those big emerald eyes brought tears into both of Wales's eyes.

"Is it really you..."

Wales felt his lips tremble.

"... Yu...?"


	38. Soul

Wales

"Is it really you... Yu...?"

Wales uttered the words, tears threatening to fall, his lips quivering. Yu stood less than a meter away from him, beaming brightly at him, a luminous turquoise aura surrounding him. The wound on his chest was somehow gone and he waved at Wales like everything was fine, just like how he would always be there to console him, Tsubasa and their other friends whenever they needed him. Wales had thought that Yu was truly gone. That he would not be able to see, laugh and talk with him on this earth ever again.

But there he was.

"Yeap, it's me, alright!"

Yu laughed cheerfully.

"And I finally found a way to help you see again!" Yu's eyes were sparkling. "How cool is that?"

"Yu..."

Wales clenched his fists, trying not to tremble. There was no doubt about it; it was truly Yu, his close friend. That inimitable, unwavering brightness, his cheerful smile, his radiant energy... That was definitely Yu. Wales had heard from the others about Ryuga's last moments, the transferring of his Star Fragment, his final words before disappearing into a shroud of fading blue lights, but he still could hardly believe that Yu was standing right in front of him like this, smiling like everything was okay when it was not.

_But Ryuga faded away eventually..._

Wales tried to step closer, hoping that he could keep himself together, that he could reach Yu, despite the fear whirling in his heart.

_So does that mean... Yu..._

"Come on, Wally!" Yu smiled encouragingly. "Don't stay quiet now. I wanna hear your voice again! Tsubasa, Sophie, Kenchi, guys! Come on!"

Wales felt Tsubasa's grip on his shoulder tighten, the latter shaking slightly, and heard Sophie sob softly.

"But you're... going to disappear," Tsubasa spoke, his voice quiet, "aren't you?"

Yu's smile turned sad. "I was hoping you'd bring that up a bit later, but... yeap. I will." Tears glimmered in his emerald eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't give me that freaking junk, Yu!" Kyoya shrieked, his tone furious and excruciating. "You have a whole lot of junk you could give me, but this... this is just ruthless, even for me, pal!"

"Please, Yu!" Tithi cried out. "We all don't wanna lose you!"

"Come on, Yu!" Kenta yelled, his voice cracked. "Don't go; stay with us!"

"None of us will ever be the same without you," Tsubasa pointed out, his voice filled with anguish. "Please, Yu. Please!"

"Please, dear..." Sophie pleaded softly.

"I'm really sorry, guys," Yu said, tears rolling down his cheeks. "But I can't. I was only able to come here because I was granted a few wishes... To see you all one last time... to fix Wally's eye... and... to pass on Libra's strength."

Wales felt tears slip down his cheeks as Yu gave them all a broken smile. _So you gave... one of your last wishes... to me?_ He let out a choked gasp when Yu started to fade away with his aura. He glanced at Tsubasa and his eyes widened at the sight of Libra beginning to disappear too.

_No..._

"And now... I've gotta go. I really wished that we could talk more, laugh more, smile more, do all sorts of things together... but I can't. I want to, but... I can't. And you gotta know... that as much as I hate that... I have to accept that I have to accept it too."

"Yeah..." Tsubasa nodded briefly, forcing a smile, tears sheening in his eyes. "We know. And we'll all be looking forward to the next time we see each other again. It'll be... a happy reunion, right?"

Yu laughed, wiping his tears away. "Of course, Tsubasa! Why wouldn't it be? And really... since when were you this good at making me cry?"

"And you're here making us all cry a whole sea, Yu!" Masamune pointed out.

Yu laughed again. "Well... you're right."

Wales crouched down to Yu's level, knowing and hating that this was the last time that he could do this, and spread his arms open for the young boy.

"Say... Yu?"

Yu looked at Wales, a bright smile growing on his face. "Yeah, Wally?"

Wales couldn't help but smile at Yu's expression. "One last hug... before you go?"

Yu beamed brightly. "I've been waiting for you to ask! Come on, Wally, Tsubasa, guys!"

Yu sprinted and in a flash, he had thrown himself into Wales's arms and was hugging him tightly, his aura and entire being fading away. Wales held Yu in his arms as tightly as he could, as though that would let him stay, and he could feel Tsubasa, Sophie, Dashan, Kenta and many others join in the hug.

"Thank you..." Wales whispered, ruffling Yu's hair, smiling faintly as his tears ran down his face, "for everything, Yu... For our friendship, your wish, everything..."

"Aww, you make it sound like everything's gonna end!" Yu complained, causing Wales to laugh slightly. "But come on! We'll always be buddies! All of us! We're gonna see one another again someday; I know we will! You believe me, right?"

"I do." Wales smiled. His arms around Yu tightened. "I really do. We'll all... be together again."

"Yeap! We will, that's for sure!"

Wales felt Yu's body disappear and he pulled away, only to see the younger boy close to completely disappearing, almost entirely gone. Yu smiled brightly at Wales, Tsubasa and everyone else one last time before disappearing into a shower of green, white, yellow and blue fairy light that floated up into the air as they faded away like stars and fireflies going up from the earth into the vast sky. Wales took a shaky breath and released it as he got up onto his feet with the help of Tsubasa and Sophie whose faces were wet with tears.

"Let's end this together," Wales said quietly, "okay?"

Tsubasa, Sophie, Dashan, Julian, Kenta, Klaus and everyone else nodded and the 14 united bladers all turned to face Jason and Hayoto who sneered.

"Done with the waterworks?" Hayoto sniggered.

"Buzz off," Wales responded, his voice crisp and cold. "This time, you both are done."

Clenching his fists and shutting his eyes, Wales harnessed all of his strength, energy and emotions and felt all of it ignite his heart and soul. _Yu's with us all the way. This time, we all... will end this for sure!_

"This is... this is where we all merge into one!"

Wales's eyes snapped open and he felt a burst of strength rush through his heart like a flood, and in a flash, he was surrounded by a powerful aura; half-blue and half-green. As though Yu was guiding him, Wales extended a hand towards the stadium, narrowing his eyes in concentration, and Blue Cetus and his 13 allies' beys all lit up like flames, each with a colour of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Both Blue Cetus and Eagle glowed with a green aura, the colour of Yu's aura. Wales and Tsubasa glanced at each other and nodded, knowing what this meant.

"Everyone, when Tsubasa and I call ou the colour you represent, please tell your bey to run to either Blue Cetus or Eagle!" Wales called out. "Do you guys understand?"

"Yes!"

"Yeah!"

"We got you!"

Wales felt Sophie squeeze his hand tightly and they smiled at each other for a moment before he and Tsubasa began.

"Red!"

_The colour of power._

King and Julian yelled out to their beys and Variaries and Destroyer zoomed towards Eagle and Blue Cetus respectively. They disappeared into red flames and lit up Eagle and Blue Cetus. Everyone gasped in awe.

_Yu isn't called a bey genius for nothing._

"Orange!"

_The colour of determination._

Klaus and Tithi's beys transformed into beams of orange light that dove straight into Blue Cetus and Eagle.

"Yellow!"

_The colour of the sun._

Dashan and Kenta's beys turned into glowing yellow photons that successfully entered and fueled both Blue Cetus and Eagle.

"Green!"

_The colour of nature._

Tsubasa and Wales's beys got their green auras back, now illuminated by a total of four different colours.

"Blue!"

_The colour of the sky and sea._

Gingka and Sophie's beys turned into glowing bluebirds that soared into Eagle and Blue Cetus.

"Indigo!"

_The colour of wisdom and sincerity._

Dynamis and Masamune's beys became indigo shooting stars that fired themselves right into Eagle and Blue Cetus.

_One more to go._

"Violet!"

_The colour of pride and devotion._

Kyoya and Chris's beys morphed into violet rays that shot straight into Blue Cetus and Eagle and the latter two beys shone with all seven colours of the rainbow, with the strength, emotions and energy of seven bladers combined.

Julian, Klaus, Dashan, Wales, Sophie, Masamune and Kyoya.

King, Tithi, Kenta, Tsubasa, Gingka, Dynamis and Chris.

Yu's strength was in both remaining beys.

"Do it now, Tsubasa, Wales!" everyone shouted.

Wales and Tsubasa did not waste a second and yelled.

"Let's go, Blue Cetus!"

"Go, Eagle!"

 _Arigato... Yu... my_ nakama _._

Tsubasa Otori

Blue Cetus and Eagle did not waste a single moment and collided heavily against Devilry and Malevolence respectively, pushing both beys back.

"You think that trick's gonna work?" Hayoto demanded, scoffing. "Watch this. Malevolence, bring out the lance!"

Tsubasa remained calm. "Eagle!"

Before Malevolence could finish summoning the lance, Eagle brought out its spirit as well as Pegasus in unimaginable speed and both winged spirits dove down and struck the dark bey with massive strength like a lightning bolt.

"You go, Tsubasa!" Gingka yelled out.

"Devilry!" Jason shouted. "Drown that insolent child."

Devilry was cloaked with a black aura, Blue Cetus flashed into Libra for a moment and it unleashed a vortex of blue and green flames which ambushed and captured Wales's uncle's bey. Tsubasa glanced at Wales and gasped when Wales, for a moment, appeared as Tsubasa's best friend Yu.

_Whoa..._

"You fool..." Jason started.

"Cetus: Hurricane of Dual Flames!"

In a split-second, the vortex shone with an eerie, blinding light and burst into an explosion, causing Tsubasa to lift an arm to shield his eyes. _Wales... Yu..._ Tsubasa slowly opened his eyes and smiled when he saw that both Malevolence and Devilry were spinning slower now. Blue Cetus had protected itself and Eagle with a stronger Cetus Grand Shield and the barrier disappeared as Tsubasa and Wales heard their friends cheer.

"You go, guys!"

"We can win this!"

"Come on, guys!"

Tsubasa looked at Wales and they exchanged a brief smile. Wales did look different with his new turquoise eye, but Tsubasa had to admit that he liked this new appearance. It really suited Wales. Wales's turquoise eye glowed faintly as he called out to Blue Cetus again and Tsubasa smiled.

_Let's go, Wales._

"Now what, dad?" Hayoto cursed, scowling darkly at Wales and Tsubasa. "They're way stronger now; maybe even stronger than us!"

Jason, however, simply grinned. "They'll drown, alright. I promise you that, Hayoto. They have yet to even taste true despair. So..."

His cold eyes glinted with malice.

"Let me take you on a deadly ride! Devilry!"

Devilry released a storm of black aura and sent it whirling straight towards Eagle and Blue Cetus, its speed blistering. Tsubasa prepared to order Eagle to sprint away, but then a memory flashed inside his head.

_He followed the direction of the wind!_

Yu had always been able to locate a hole in Kyoya's Lion Gale Force Wall and strike Leone from inside the hurricane. As Eagle and Blue Cetus dashed away, Tsubasa examined Jason's storm, wondering if the same applied for it.

"Wales. I need you to-"

"On it," Wales replied immediately, his eyes already narrowed.

Tsubasa's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you-"

"Our minds are in sync, thanks to Yu." Wales smiled. "Really, he's been helping us the whole time."

Tsubasa smiled. "Yeah."

Wales's eyes turned serious. "I found it. When I say, 'Go', aim straight at where my finger points. I have timed everything."

Tsubasa nodded. _He's inherited Yu's bey genius._ "Yeah, got it."

Both boys looked down at the stadium, Tsubasa's heart thumping with anticipation. He could not afford to mess this up, not with everyone's hopes, strength and efforts in himself and Wales. Not after Yu had given everything up for them. Tsubasa clenched his fists.

_Stay calm, Tsubasa. Calm down. Just do what you have to, like you always do._

"Go now, Tsubasa!" Wales yelled.

"Eagle!" Tsubasa shouted.

At once, Eagle launched itself in the direction of Wales's index finger towards the storm, with Blue Cetus following close behind him. Within seconds, both inserted themselves into the tornado and the two boys could hear the clashing of metal against metal.

The black storm dissipated, revealing a struggling Devilry being trapped in a fierce pincer attack by Eagle and Blue Cetus. Devilry's spin was growing more and more unstable.

"Eagle: Lilac Song!"

Tsubasa felt his lilac aura radiate from hia body and Eagle and Blue Cetus's power rose like the speed of their spins. Tsubasa felt his heart pulsate uncontrollably and unsteadily as he gave more and more of his power to the two beys and Wales's arm around him tightened.

"You're shaking, Tsubasa."

Wales's voice was concerned.

"Don't forget that we're with you all the way, alright?"

Tsubasa smiled faintly. "Yeah. Thanks, Wales."

Wales nodded. "Blue Cetus!"

"Eagle!"

Both boys pushed harder against Devilry and suddenly, the dark bey's black fusion wheel cracked audibly, bits of metal chipped off. Tsubasa stared in shock. Jason's eyes turned from cruel to fearful for the first time.

"Dad!" Hayoto shrieked almost maniacally. "I will kill you all! I will kill you over and over again!"

Malevolence surged towards the three beys like a treacherous whirlwind, cloaked in an indigo aura, and Blue Cetus quickly disconnected itself from Devilry and collided with the indigo bey.

"You. Will. Die. Now," Hayoto snarled.

Wales's next words were as cold as ice. "When did we ever let you have your way?"

Blue Cetus pushed Malevolence back without any show of mercy.

"Let's do this now, Blue Cetus. Special Move: Sword of Souls - Water!"

At once, Blue Cetus transformed from one bey to another before transforming into a long, sharp-edged glistening cerulean sword that soares straight towards Malevolence, which drew out the same indigo lance that had killed Yu. Wales glanced at Tsubasa and the latter immediately knew what to do.

"Eagle, Special Move! Sword of Souls - Wind!"

Eagle morphed into a glowing lilac sword that matched Blue Cetus's sword and it deep through the air towards Devilry, which conjured up another storm. The special moves all collided like meteors and a collosal explosion was triggered like a nuclear bomb.

"Wah!"

"Tsubasa!"

"Wales!"

"Guys!"

Tsubasa and Wales crashed against the cold floor hard, their friends' worried voices filling their ears. Tsubasa winced slightly and turned to Wales, who gritted his teeth in pain.

"Wales, are you okay?" Tsubasa asked, concerned.

"Y-Yeah," Wales muttered, clutching his wound. "I'll be fine."

Tsubasa nodded quietly as he took Wales's hand and pulled themselves up, not knowing what the outcome was. They watched as the smoke in the stadium faded into thin air, and they coughed at the whiff. When everything was clear before their eyes, Tsubasa gasped.

_What?_

Wales

Wales could not help but gap at the scene. The stadium was etched with a million cracks and punctured with holes, like an earthquake and meteor shower had taken place. Blue Cetus and Eagle were both spinning perfectly like nothing happened, like they were merely training in the park. But Wales could not say the same about his opponents. Hayoto laid on the ground motionless, his eyes shut tightly. His bey had crashed against the wall of the throne room and was stuck there, unmoving.

_But where is Jason?_

Jason was not by his son's side tending to the unconscious boy. Instead, he was standing up unsteadily, giving Wales and Tsubasa a wicked grin, his eyes blazing with contempt and cruelty. They looked down at the stadium and gasped when they saw that Devilry had survived the attack, barely spinning but still alive.

"I've got to be blunt with you, but I never liked you, dear nephew."

Wales held back an angry scoff and did not say a word.

"You were always a pest to my plans, like when I attempted to ruin the Konzern family 10 years ago, like right now. You've always been an insolent nuisance, even without realizing it."

Jason cackled loudly and Wales tried not to flinch at the lunacy glowing in his uncle's eyes.

"Hayoto was the perfect son. He gave me his all without ever being a bother, and as a dad, could I ever ask for more? He visited me everyday in prison and he truly despised you for locking me up, Wales. I'd never seen him abhor a more vengeful hatred for anyone or anything else but you. And yet you still ruin him."

Wales gritted his teeth. "I never-"

"So now I shall be the one to avenge my son. And then he will wake up knowing that you have drowned and died in your despair and he can finally _smile_." Hayoto grinned evilly. "So now... Devilry!"

At once, Devilry absorbed Malevolence and glowed with an indigo and black aura. The aura surged up and burst into flames and ashes, like a volcano eruption. Everyone gasped as Devilry morphed, whirled and turned into a half-sea-monster-half-king that wielded a trident in one hand and a lance in another.

"This is..."

Jason laughed.

"The monster that will destroy you!"

Wales clenched his teeth and fists, trying to find a way to defeat Jason once and for all. The darkness was immense, powerful enough to consume them all alive, and Wales wanted to make sure that that would not happen. But how? Then he remembered the team's first strategy of three beys going against one, as well as the team that had transformed his life.

The team of the sky.

"Sophie, Tsubasa, the three of us are all diving in!"

Sophie's green eyes widened in shock. "Wait, me?"

"Yes." Wales smiled softly. "You're a part of this team too. You, me, Tsubasa and Yu."

Sophie's expression softened with realization and she smiled. "Yeah... always."

"Sophie, you'll go left. Tsubasa, you're on the right side. I will aim straight. Are you guys, ready?"

Tsubasa nodded with a determined smile. "Yeah."

Sophie nodded too. "Yes."

Wales smiled. "Alright then. Now!"

Like a gun had been shot, White Cetus suddenly appeared on Blue Cetus's left and zoomed forward as Blue Cetus and Eagle ran.

Jason laughed. "You kids think you can beat me with that-"

"Blue Cetus: Sword of Souls - Water!"

"Eagle: Sword of Souls - Wind!"

"White Cetus: Sword of Souls - Ice!"

The beys turned into three swords- blue, white and lilac -and they all pierced into the conjured beast and it shrieked in agony, its pain fueling its darkness.

"Please lend us your strength again, Yu!" Wales yelled, collecting all of his strength.

Tsubasa and Sophie gasped as Wales's aura turned from blue to green.

"Libra: Sword of Souls - Light!"

At once, Yu's bright smile flashed inside Wales's head and Libra appeared and turned into a luminous greem sword. The new sword swung viciously and thrusted itself against the beast's stomach, right below Blue Cetus's sword. The beast cried out, starting to falter. Jason was shaking with fear.

"No, no-"

"Let's do this, Sophie, Tsubasa, Yu!" Wales called out. "1, 2, 3!"

"Sword of Souls: Aozora!"

And Wales knew that he heard Yu's voice too.

The swords' light intensified and shrouded the entire throne room as the beast let out a blood-curdling shriek and burst into black and indigo ashes.

"No!" Jason shouted, his voice drowned out by the explosion.

Wales, Tsubasa and Sophie quickly collected their beys as their allies' beys returned to them and Libra faded into green light. Wales cracked a sad smile at that, but he knew that he had to go. They all did. The walls were collapsing.

"That's Yu's body, right?"

"How did it get there? I thought it faded away!"

"Who cares? We're bringing him with us!"

Kyoya hoisted Yu's body over his shoulder as all the bladers dashed towards the exit, hoping that they could escape on time. Tsubasa and Sophie supported Wales, whose wounds had yet to heal, and they quickly followed Kenta and the others, their hearts racing. The ceilings cracked and were on the verge of crashing down on top of them and Wales felt himself pant hard as they all ran down the flights of stairs and across the hallways, past defeated opponents and ruined beauty.

_So... we're done, aren't we?_

Somehow Wales did not feel relieved. Instead, his heart held a gaping hole that contained nothing more than sorrow and agony as they managed to run out of the castle before everything came falling into ruins. It was as though the castle was waiting for all of them to leave before breaking down.

"So we saved ourselves and the world once again." There was a pause. "Now what?"

King's voice was filled with pain and Wales saw Kyoya lay Yu down on the ground, the Leone blader gritting his teeth in anguish. Tears welling up inside of him, Wales looked up at the sky. It was already the next day. Dawn had broken out in the sky and a glow of yellow was cracking the darkness apart like a smile in a night of scars, a laugh in a day of tears, warmth in the cruellest winter. He took a few unsteady steps forward and fell onto the ground next to Yu, whose eyes were closed into a peaceful expression, like he was taking a good nap.

_Yu..._

It was the next day, which meant that it was a special day. The day that they had all been waiting to celebrate together. But now it had become a tomorrow of mourning. A tomorrow of grief, agony and suffering. A tomorrow without Yu. A tomorrow that was supposed to be a day of happiness, a special day. With tears rolling down his face, Wales looked down and held Yu on the head, his smile anguished, and whispered.

"Happy Birthday... Yu."


	39. Collapse

Wales

Wales slowly opened his eyes, his head throbbing in pain, his heart pulsing unsteadily. His body was aching like there were a thousand bruises there and he winced as he forced himself to sit up, pulling his comforter off him.

_Even sleep is now torture for me._

Wales glanced around the room. Julian was fast asleep, his head resting against the pillow. So was Klaus, who snored loudly. But he could not say the same for his two other roommates. Sophie was cocooned in her blanket, trembling, crying quietly, tears running down her face. Feeling his heart throb excruciatingly for his love, Wales slowly scooted off his bed, took his walking stick and limped towards her, ignoring his aching wounds, noting that the bathroom light was on, meaning that Tsubasa was inside.

_All of us are still in pain._

"Sophie?"

Wales spoke softly, standing at the side of Sophie's bed. She did not stop quivering.

"Sophie?" Wales repeated, tapping her on the shoulder.

Sophie slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Wales, inhaling and exhaling shakily. Taking a seat on Sophie's bed, Wales gave her an agonized smile as he helped her up into sitting position, pulling her arm carefully.

"You can't sleep, can you?" Wales muttered.

Sophie quietly shook her head. "No."

Wales nodded in understanding, givibg her hand a light squeeze. "Yeah. I can't either."

A suffocating silence filled the air for a brief moment.

"Every time I close my eyes... all I can see is Yu."

Sophie's words were a near whisper, flooded with anguish.

"He... He's a little brother to me," she continued, tears sheening in her olive eyes. She smiled weakly as Wales nodded quietly. "He'd make us laugh and smile even when things were difficult, tell us that everything would be fine and that he was with us all the way... Even though he's the youngest among all of us... he's always... looked out for us, placed us before himself and... has always been a sun. But now..."

She had yet to finish when she choked on a silent sob, her hand over her mouth. His heart on the verge of cracking, Wales pulled her into his arms, his mind flooded with his own memories of their little brother. Of his close friend. Sophie was right; Yu was the sun. His radiant presence, his contagious laugh, his bright smile that could light up anyone's worst days... Yu shone. He was a sun, the stars, the flashlight. Wales closed his eyes, tears welling up inside of him again, letting Sophie bury her face into his chest, drenching his T-shirt with her tears. Honestly, if it was possible, he would have given up his life for Yu back then. If it meant that Yu would be alive and well, Wales would not hesitate to do it. Yu deserved to live, to smile, laugh and say more.

But right before Yu's birthday, Wales had lost one of the people that he cared about the most.

His brother, his close friend.

Wales felt warm tears slip down his cheeks as he and Sophie remained there, not a single word uttered amidst the night's silence.

_We miss you... Yu. We all do._

Dashan Wang

Unlike the rest of his team, Dashan was up, wide and awake.

With a styrofoam cup of green tea in his hand, Dashan sat at a bench in the park nearest to the hotel his team was staying in, looking up at the sky. It had only been less than a few hours after everyone defeated Jason and Hayoto and returned back home, but Dashan barely slept. Perhaps he could have slept more, given his head a break from his excruciating memories, but his stubbornness and throbbing heart coldly rejected the idea.

Dashan smiled wryly. _This was unwarranted, wasn't it?_

Yu was his friend. A remarkable, irreplaceable friend. At such a young age, Yu had a heart bigger and brighter than the stars, not something that Dashan saw in many kids Yu's age. He kept everyone going even during the darkest hours with his genuine, bright self and simple but heartfelt words. Yet Yu ended up being the one whose life was taken away from him.

_If it was not Yu, it would have been Wales._

Dashan observed as white vapour wafted up into the air from the surface of his cup.

_The loss of a friend was inevitable today._

He felt his heart squeeze in pain; something that normally did not occur easily.

_Why do sacrifices need to come with this much pain?_

"I thought I'd find you here, bro."

Dashan turned to face Chao Xin, who plopped himself down onto the bench next to him. Chao Xin's hair was dishevelled and his face was marred with hints of exhaustion. With his hands crossed behind his head, Chao Xin leaned against the bench and sighed.

"The world just moves on and paints the sky blue, huh?"

"I can't argue with that, my friend," Dashan agreed, looking up at the sky.

The sky was a serene azure, white pigeons tracing graceful arcs above them like everything was alright in the world. The sun was glowing with orange and yellow flames, illuminating everything, while some kids were running on the viridescent grass, chasing one another with their beys zooming alongside them, laughing and smiling. Dashan smiled sadly.

"It just left Yu behind. It's not fair."

Dashan's eyes widened slightly at the vehemence in Chao Xin's normally-cheerful voice. Chao Xin's teeth were gritted in anger and pain and his eyes were shut tightly, his fists clenched.

"I didn't even get how much that kid meant to me before he took that blow for Wales. I just saw him as a cheerful, bright kid who was my friend. But he was more than that. God, he accomplished more than I ever did and I'm older than him."

Chao Xin smiled bitterly. It was a smile of self-chastising.

"He's a hero, man. He's always been. And I just... wished that I'd spent more time with him, been there for him, been able to break into that freaking throne room and stop that from happening. But I couldn't. And now the world is just letting go of him. I hate that!"

And before Dashan knew it, Chao Xin was crying. The guy who had always put up a flirty, nonchalant image in front of his fans, who rarely showed how much he truly cared for others, who always had a cheeky grin on his face, had now broken down, his head hung, teeth clenched, tears falling from his eyes. Wordlessly, Dashan placed an arm around Chao Xin's back and patted him, closing his eyes. Dashan could not disagree with Chao Xin this time, and there was plenty that they could argue over. Dashan also wished that he had been better friends with Yu. With Yu, Tsubasa, Wales, Sophie and many others even before the chaos began. He could improve his bond with the others, but it was too late to do so with Yu.

_The world is a beautiful place, but it can be a cruel person too._

As Chao Xin sobbed, Dashan muttered things like "It's okay" and "I know" to not only his friend, but to himself.

_They left a brilliant person without a moment of pausing._

Gingka Hagane

"Ahh!"

"Kenta! Kenta!"

Gingka, Madoka and Yuki rushed towards Kenta's side as the latter screamed in agony, with Chris shooting up from his bed. Kenta was shaking uncontrollably, tears streaking his pallid face, sweat beading on his forehead. Gingka shook Kenta on the shoulder, yelling out to him, and he heard the latter sob.

"No! Don't go! Not you! Not another friend!"

"Calm down, Kenta!" Madoka pleaded, her eyes filled with worry. "We're all here. It's just a dream!"

"Kenta!"

Inhaling and exhaling unsteadily, Kenta opened his tearful eyes, now looking at Gingka and the others. Chris joined them as Yuki and Madoka helped Kenta up to sitting position, glancing at each other. Yuki smiled painfully as Gingka shook his head, all of them knowing why Kenta was crying.

_He had always been our good friend too._

"Kenta," Gingka began, placing an arm around his best friend, "it's going to be fine, okay? You will be fine-"

"Gah."

A hand flew over Kenta's mouth and he sprinted urgently to the bathroom, causing Gingka's heart to race with worry. "Kenta!" Kenta bent over the toilet bowl and threw up everything that he had eaten and drank, coughing and choking violently. Madoka grabbed a box of tissues as Gingka patted Kenta's back, with Yuki and Chris rushing to get some medicine and hot water.

"Where's the kettle, Yuki?"

"I'm getting it, Mr Chris!"

"Hurry up! He's throwing everything up!"

"Take a deep breath, Kenta," Gingka urged. "Please!"

"Come on, Kenta..."

The same thing had happened the night after Ryuga's death, Kenta being terrorized in his sleep. But this time, it was worse. Kenta was struggling to recover much longer than before and it took ages for him to stop bending over the toilet bowl and coughing, to get him to drink his medicine. As Madoka and Yuki prepared some warm food for Kenta, Gingka and Chris stayed by Kenta's side, looking out for any more signs of struggle. Chris glanced at Gingka with a forced smile.

Gingka lowered his eyes.

_We want and need you back, Yu._

Wales

"Tsubasa? Are you alright in there?"

Wales knocked gently on the door, with Sophie next to him. It had been half an hour ever since Wales had woken up and Tsubasa had not left the bathroom. At first, Sophie and Wales had agreed to give Tsubasa some time, but now they were worrying. Tsubasa was not answering and they could hear no sound coming from inside the bathroom.

His worry intensifying, Wales knocked louder. "Tsubasa?"

Silence was all that answered him.

"We're lucky he has a spare key," Wales muttered, inserting the key into the keyhole. "Tsubasa, please be alright in there."

Sophie nodded and Wales turned the key, unlocking the door. Immediately, Wales opened the door and his eyes dilated in shock and terror, with Sophie gasping.

"Tsubasa!"

Tsubasa laid face-down on the floor, no movement from a single muscle. Wales and Sophie hurried into the bathroom and crouched down, turning Tsubasa's body over, worry and fear flaring inside Wales's heart. Tsubasa's eyes had fallen into a close and his face was as pale as snow, frozen in an agonized expression. Trembling, Wales placed a hand on Tsubasa's chest, checking for his heartbeat.

His heartbeat was faint.

"Please wake up, Tsubasa!" Sophie cried. "Please wake up!"

"Wales? Sophie?" Julian's voice was heard from a distance. "What-"

Wales turned, only to find Julian and Klaus standing at the doorway, staring in disbelief and horror at the sight of Tsubasa unconscious on the floor.

"Please call an ambulance, Julian!" Wales pleaded, shaking Tsubasa on the shoulder. "He's barely breathing!"

"I will, Wales."

Without hesitation, Julian hurried away, leaving Sophie and Wales on the bathroom floor and Klaus at the doorway. Sophie placed a hand on Tsubasa's forehead and her eyes widened in anguish.

"His forehead is burning," Sophie said, her voice seeping with anguish. Tears filled her eyes. "Please hang in there, Tsubasa..."

"Tsubasa..."

Wales gave his close friend's shoulder a tight squeeze, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. First, Yu. Now Tsubasa... When would this ever stop? When would the world stop taking away those whom he cared about the most? Klaus's teeth were clenches in agony and Wales could feel the former pat him on the back. Wales nodded briefly, a tear falling.

_I don't want to lose... any of you._

"The ambulance will be here soon," Julian called out. "Get ready."

In response, Klaus hoisted Tsubasa up effortlessly, with Sophie helping Wales get up. The group then headed towards Julian, who was already waiting by the front door, glancing out the window. Wales turned to Sophie, who was staring at Tsubasa with tears glistening in her olive eyes. His heart on the verge of breaking down, Wales gave her a half-hug, praying hard that Tsubasa was going to be fine.

And deep down, he also hoped that Yu could have been too.

Zeo Abyss

"Guys, we have a problem!"

"What now?" King questioned, an irritated expression on his face as he dragged himself out of bed.

Zeo ignored his friend's rudeness, understanding King's mood. Masamune sat on his bed, his eyes swollen with dark shades below them, his face tired and sorrowful at the same time. Toby stood next to Masamune, his arm around his friend's shoulders, nodding quietly for Zeo to continue. Zeo did not say anything for a moment, fearful of Masamune and King's reactions, noting how much they had struggled to cope with Yu's death. But sooner or later, they would find out.

It was better now than later.

"Tsubasa collapsed."

"What?"

"No!"

Toby's eyes dilated in shock and horror, while King cursed repeatedly, gritting his teeth in pain and frustration. Zeo felt his heart clench and it only broke when he saw Masamune squeeze his eyes shut and shake his head as though he had had enough of everything, like it was all too much for him to bear.

_Masamune..._

The Masamune who was cocky, rude and boisterous but also caring, determined and strong was gone, only to be replaced by one who was on the verge of collapsing, tortured by anguish, trapped within himself. Zeo knew that Yu's death had hit Masamune hard, but he had not expected Masamune to take the blow this painfully. At the same time, however, Zeo knew that Masamune would take awhile to truly get over it. Zeo slowly approached Masamune and gave him a tight hug, feeling the latter tremble violently, sobbing uncontrollably. This was his best friend.

Zeo felt his own tears well up inside of him.

And he swore to make sure that Masamune was going to be alright.

Wales

Wales sat next to Julian in the ambulance with Sophie and Klaus seated across them, the siren wailing over and over again like a metronome of death, the vehicle rocking back and forth. Tsubasa laid on a gurney, a green oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, still unconscious.

_Hang in there, Tsubasa. You've always been strong, so strong._

Wales squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

_Please hold onto that strength, Tsubasa. Don't let it go._

Tsubasa had been by Wales's side all the way. He had believed in Wales, protected him, supported him, trained with him, comforted him, even when everything was wrong. Wales did not know what would have happened if Tsubasa hadn't been there for him. He felt a hand hold his shoulder firmly and he opened his eyes and saw Julian already looking at him with a pained smile.

"Tsubasa will be fine," Julian said. "He will be because you and Sophie found him in the bathroom on time. Please don't think of the worst; consider other factors."

Julian squeezed his shoulder slightly.

"Like when you were in surgery all those years ago."

Wales's eyes widened. Julian had accompanied Wales when he was getting his eye surgery after Jason stabbed him. They were in the waiting room, sitting beside each other eating Earl-Grey-flavoured ice-cream. Wales had to go get surgery multiples of times and Julian would always be there to accompany him. As they ate their ice-cream, Julian spoke.

"Hey, Wales."

"Yes?" Wales responded.

"I'm sorry about your eye," Julian apologized, lowering his eyes. "I mean, the doctors can't even fix it completely."

Wales, however, smiled faintly. "I'm fine with that."

"Huh?"

Julian's eyes widened and Wales laughed at the reaction. Back then, Julian's reactions had been rather amusing.

"I mean, even if I knew that this would happen, I'd still defend you, Julian." Wales smiled. "And I still can see anyway. So I'll just consider myself lucky and happy since I can still see you and got to protect you."

Julian had remembered that moment, although Wales had not expected him to. And here they were, in an ambulance, the roles reversed. Wales smiled faintly and nodded at Julian.

"Yeah, I will. Thanks, Julian."

Tsubasa would be alright. Wales prayed, hoped and believed he would. And he would not stop doing so.

???

An elderly man was painting in his living room, mixing different shades of blue, green, purple and countless other colours, wordless, soundless. He had painted the sky, the grass, the sun, the leaves. All that was left were the people.

"You found something that many others didn't get to truly have," the man muttered, smiling faintly. "You were a lucky kid and you deserved it."

He dipped his brush into orange paint and swept his brush across the paper. Then orange became peach then white then pale blue. A little boy had been created on the canvas. A little boy with a radiant, contagious smile. Satisfied with his work, he moved on to paint more people. A teenage boy with one eye and long brown bangs, a silver-haired teen with a pet eagle, a kind girl with wavy blue hair, a green-haired boy a year older than the little boy, a few others too. The man saw the kid's days brimming with happiness, brightness, cheerfulness. All the things that he gave others.

The man wished that he could have been a greater part of it than he had been.

As he proceeded to paint a magenta-haired boy holding a large mask, he heard a loud noise from upstairs. An explosion. His eyes widening, he took his walking stick and walked as fast as he could manage on his own.

Minutes later, he reached the source of the noise and opened the door.

And he was bewildered beyond imagination.


	40. Incomplete

Sophie

_Tsubasa..._

Sophie, Wales, Julian and Klaus sat outside the ICU, waiting anxiously for the doctor. Tsubasa had been rushed into the ICU on a gurney, still unconscious, and around 15 minutes had flitted by since then. Klaus had gotten Styrofoam cups of tea for all of them, but Sophie had barely taken a sip. She remembered the burning heat that radiated from Tsubasa's forehead back in the bathroom, and it was hot beyond normal human levels. And all this time, Tsubasa had never fallen ill. She felt a warm hand rub her on the back and turned to face Wales, whose lips curved into an anguished smile.

"Please drink the tea, Sophie. It'll soothe your nerves."

Sophie smiled faintly. "I... I can't really drink now, Wales. It's just... so overwhelming and the doctor has been taking awhile. I'm... just scared."

Sophie lowered her eyes.

"I don't want Tsubasa to end up like Yu..."

Wales nodded in understanding, pulling her into a half-hug. "He won't. Let's believe in that. We have to."

Sophie nodded weakly. "Wales..."

"Wales! Sophie!"

"How's Tsubasa doing?"

"Is he going to be alright?"

Sophie turned and saw Masamune, Chao Xin, Dashan, Madoka and many others rushing along the grey corridor towards them, all their eyes filled with concern, worry and fear. Julian shook his head in response to the bombardment of questions.

"The doctor has yet to come out," Julian replied, glancing at the immense double doors of the ICU. "However, Tsubasa was still breathing when Wales and Sophie found him, so he should be able to wake up."

"This is just nuts!" Masamune yelled, his fists trembling with frustration. "Just hours ago, he and Wales were saving everyone. And now he's collapsed?" He slammed a fist against the wall, shaking his head. "This is just too much! I hate this!"

"Mr Gingka and Kenta weren't able to make it," Yuki said, his head hung, with Chris's hand on his shoulder. Sorrow filled his kind brown eyes. "Kenta woke up screaming and then he threw up. He was shaking... and when Gingka got the news that Tsubasa had collapsed... we all agreed to not tell Kenta yet."

Yuki squeezed his eyes shut, trembling.

"We doubted that he'd be able to take it."

"Tithi's unable to show up too."

Aguma folded his arms, his face hard.

"He refused to even eat breakfast. He laid on his bed, sobbing, his face buried in his pillow." Aguma shook his head. "So Dynamis is taking care of him while Bao and I went out to see how Tsubasa was doing." His lips curved into a weak grin. "We didn't tell the kid either."

Kenta's screams of agony and grief and Tithi's uncontrollable wails from the battle against Jason and Hayoto pierced Sophie's heart like raining blades, letting it bleed. Sophie knew that Kenta and Tithi were two of the Yu's closest friends and took his death harder than almost everyone. Sophie lowered her eyes, silently praying that Kenta, Tithi and Tsubasa were both going to be okay. That everyone, including herself, would be alright.

Nausea constricted her insides as she forced herself to sip her tea.

And right now... no one was.

As a few bladers fell back against the rows of chairs and others leaned back against the walls, the doors swung open and a doctor emerged from the ICU. At once, all heads were turned and Sophie's heart pounded with anticipation.

"Doctor, how is he?" Julian asked, his eyes concerned.

The doctor sighed. "It has only been a while since the last time he pushed himself past his limits, and it has taken quite a toll on him." His eyes were as worried as his voice. "Not to mention, emotional stress has added heavy pressure onto his heart and mind and drained him of his strength. To sum it all up, it was definitely no surprise that Tsubasa ended up collapsing."

Sophie gasped softly.

"Will he be alright?" Wales asked, his voice fearful.

The doctor looked at Wales and his eyes widened for a split-second. Sophie knew why; the doctor just noticed that Wales was now heterochromatic, thanks to Yu. The doctor, however, quickly recovered and spoke.

"Well, this is... quite difficult to say. I am sorry-"

"Is he dead?" King demanded, impatient.

"King!" Madoka, Zeo and a few others all exclaimed.

"No. Your friend is not dead. He got extremely lucky." The doctor hesitated. "However..."

Dread trickled into Sophie's heart like mud. "What?" she whispered.

The doctor smiled apologetically. "He's in a coma, miss. And I am unable to predict how long it will take to wake him up-"

"Stop messing around, doc!"

Kyoya slammed the doctor against the wall, his eyes blazing with rage.

"'Cause this isn't funny! This is no time to mess with our heads!"

"Kyoya!" Aguma yelled as he, Chao Xin and Zeo tried to pull the Leone blader away from the doctor. "The doctor's done nothing wrong!"

"Then why isn't he able to revive Tsubasa?" Kyoya roared.

"He did all that he could, Kyoya!" Madoka cried out, her voice tearful. "Please calm down!"

"You think it's that easy, huh?"

"Please!"

Sophie felt warm tears slip down her cheeks as she quietly watched her fellow bladers argue and yell at one another and she felt a pair of arms pull her into a tight hug. Weeping, she burrowed her face into Wales's chest and let her heart cry as much as it had to, her hands gripping his T-shirt. He patted her on the back and whispered, "It's okay," with a cracked voice and in a fleeting moment, she felt tears fall onto her shoulder and he let out a few choked sobs.

"God... why is this all happening?" he muttered, his words tortured. "Yu, Kenta, Tithi, Tsubasa, everyone..."

"Wales..." Sophie wrapped her arms around him, tears running down their faces, chaos, mayhem and excruciating emotions surrounding them, the sounds of fists slamming against the wall filling the corridor.

The pain never stopped.

???

The elderly painter took an olive coat from his wardrobe and turned to a picture frame on the wall. There were 4 people: himself, a man, a woman and a little boy. The little boy was up on the elderly man's back, laughing, while his parents were smiling. The little boy was five at that time.

_He could make anyone smile at least a little._

It had been a family of four ever since the boy was born and the painter's wife passed away due to brain cancer. The painter could only smile wryly as he looked away and limped out of his bedroom, his heart wrenched in pain.

_And now I'm the only one left._

Approaching the front door, he passed by his unfinished painting. He had stopped in the middle of painting a boy with magenta hair and a large mask, whom the little boy had met in faraway ruins . He decided to take a break from staying in the house and get some fresh air.

After all, he had to prepare himself to meet the people who had shaped the little boy's world.

It was about time he did.

Wales

Tsubasa laid on a white bed, his lower body covered by a thin quilt. His eyes were shut and a green oxygen mask covered his mouth and nose, tubes connected to his body. Wales, Sophie, Dashan, Masamune and a few others were the only ones in the room; everyone else had been told to wait outside as it may be too tight and crowded inside. No one said a word, the air thick and heavy with pure sorrow.

_Please wake up soon, Tsubasa..._

Sitting on a wooden chair next to Tsubasa's bed, Wales carefully undid the black choker that he had worn and never taken off for years. It was a peculiar feeling, to be honest; he didn't remember the last time he'd taken it off. Smiling through his tears, Wales took Tsubasa's left hand and placed the black choker on his palm.

_We all won't stop waiting for you... right here._

He curled Tsubasa's fingers around the choker and held his close friend's cold hand.

_No matter how long it takes... friend._

???

A yellow taxi drove along the grey road, past countless buildings and people. The artist sat at the back, reading through unfolded papers. The silence around him was polluted by the crashing of brakes, the blaring of horns and the shouts of civilians, but the man did not say a word, unbothered.

A tear ran down his right cheek.

His mind was the most chaotic of all.

Julian Konzern

After staying in Tsubasa's room at the hospital for quite awhile, Julian ate breakfast with Wales, Sophie, Klaus and Team Wang Hu Zhong at a nearby diner. None of them said it out loud, but it was clear that everyone wanted to refrain from going back to Tsubasa's house for now.

_It won't feel like home._

Julian delicately cut through a slice of red velvet cake with his knife, but deep down, he was hardly in the mood to eat a single bite. He looked up at his friends and saw that they, too, were reluctantly having their breakfast. On his left, Dashan seemed calm on the surface, but Julian knew that he was taking his time. On his right, Wales stared down at his mug of Earl Grey tea, his eyes flooded with sorrow.

_Without those who are close to us, even if it's just one person,_

Julian closed his eyes and held Wales on the shoulder.

_we are incomplete._

Ryo Hagane

"Director, you have a visitor."

"Who is it now?" Mr Hagane sighed in exasperation, putting away his paperwork.

He truly wished thay he had taken a leave from his work at the WBBA. The news that Yu had passed away had reaches him and it had pierced his heart like a blade. Yu had been such a gifted, bright-hearted boy and an irreplaceable friend to Mr Hagane's son and many others. Yu had made a difference and Mr Hagane would not ever stop being grateful for that. Hikaru opened the door, her eyes puffy red from crying earlier, and an older man limped into the room.

Mr Hagane's eyes widened in surprise.

"I apologize for not informing you in advance, Ryo."

The elderly artist smiled.

"I must say that it's been too long and that there is much that we need to discuss."

Wales

"Ugh..."

"Are you alright, Wales?"

"I'll be fine," Wales replied, drinking a glass of water. He smiled weakly. "Thanks, Julian."

It had been three days ever since Yu's birthday, ever since Tsubasa fell into a coma. Wales had suffered from migrane headaches and agonizing nausea each day, even vomiting a few times a day, and hardly got any sleep. Sophie, Julian and Klaus stayed close to him and Wales could always see the concern and anguish in their eyes. He didn't want to make them more worried than they already were. However, he couldn't stop the pain from coming, moreover stop worrying about Yu and Tsubasa until he himself fell ill. He sat on his bed beside Sophie, listening to music as Julian typed on his laptop and Klaus took a nap.

A pang of guilt stabbed his heart as Sophie changed the music to one of Wales's favourites.

_I'm really sorry, guys._

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Wales proceeded to get up, but Julian stopped him.

"I'll get it, Wales."

Wales smiled slightly as his friend walked over to the door.; Julian had been extremely protective these days.

"Who is it?" Julian called out.

"It's me, Julian."

Wales's eyes widened. It was Mr Hagane, Gingka's father. But what was he doing here? Glancing at Wales and Sophie, Julian unlocked and opened the door, revealing Mr Hagane and an elderly man.

"Can we come in?"

"Yes, you may," Julian responded, stepping away from the door.

Wales studied the elderly man carefully. The man was slender and slightly shorter than Mr Hagane. His short, neat hair was as white as snow and his skin was fair. He wore thick silver-framed spectacles and his eyes were the colour of emeralds. Wales's heart froze.

Those eyes were the exact same colour as-

"I'd like to introduce myself."

The elderly man looked around and smiled kindly. His next words made Wales's eyes dilate.

"I am Roger Tendo, Yu's grandfather."


	41. Heart

Wales

"You're... Yu's grandfather?"

Wales spoke without thinking, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. Roger Tendo laughed heartily at Wales's reaction and smiled warmly as he wheeled closer

(Walking and limping had proved to be too painful for him, so Julian, Klaus and Sophie had gotten a black wheelchair for him.)

"I'd figured that you kids wouldn't know who I am," Mr Tendo remarked as Wales rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "But it's alright."

He extended a hand towards Wales.

"It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Wales."

Wales's heart froze as he stared at Mr Tendo. How did he know Wales's name? He glanced at Sophie and Julian and saw from the utter shock in their eyes that they did not know the answer either. Even Mr Hagane seemed surprised. Mr Tendo laughed again and took Wales's hand in his and shook it firmly.

"And in less than a minute, I've shocked you twice!" Mr Tendo grinned. "You're as amusing as my grandson said you were."

More confusion spun around Wales's heart. Yu told his grandfather about Wales? No, actually, he had been in contact with his grandfather? Now that Wales thought about it, Yu never actually mentioned his biological family to him or the others even once. And according to Tsubasa, Yu had been travelling ever since an early age of 8, even before meeting Gingka's group for the first time. So Wales had assumed that Yu wasn't close to his family, which could have been partially true. But honestly, Wales could not imagine Yu and the man standing right in front of him not getting along.

_So why did Yu never mention his grandfather? And why did he leave home at that age when he could have been with his family? And what it-_

Pain thumped in Wales's head like a beaten drum and he clutched it tightly with a wince.

_Ugh... not now..._

"I see that Yu's death has been hurting you greatly, just like it has been torturing all those he cared about."

The humour in Mr Tendo's voice had died away, only for a quiet agony to take its place. Wales slowly faced Mr Tendo again and his heterochromatic eyes met the adult's apologetic, understanding emerald ones.

"It just shows that you sincerely care about him. I'm deeply sorry that it has to hurt this much to care, dear child."

"Don't apologize, please." Wales barely managed to choke the words out in a mutter as a lump formed in his throat. "Please don't apologize for the pain as that's... just the way it is."

Wales' body weakened out of a sudden, like its minuscule energy had been leeched out of it, and he nearly stumbled forward, only for a gentle hand to hold him on the shoulder. He turned and gave Sophie a weak but grateful smile.

"T-Thanks."

But his head was spinning and throbbing like a tornado of thorns and his vision was starting to swim in a massive blur. He could hear the elder talking, but he could not concentrate, let alone make out a single word. He needed to listen. He needed to listen to what his close friend's grandfather had to say. But before he knew it, the pain inside his head had amplified like shock waves and he was clutching it with both hands, his eyes squeezed shut tightly, his jaw clenched so hard that his teeth could even break.

"Wales? Wales?"

Someone was in front of him, shaking him on the shoulders, but Wales could hardly distinguish the details and colours. This was just like the previous times that he'd thrown up or gotten dizzy spells while struggling to recover. Deep inside of him, he knew that Yu was not coming back. That he had ran and saved him from Hayoto's cold-blooded attempt to kill Wales and that he was in a far better place now. But it was like his body and mind were not willing, not ready to accept it. Like he and the truth were two like poles of a magnet: everlastingly repelling each other. The colours slowly began to fade away, only to be replaced by countless swimming black spots.

He fell against a hard chest and into blackness.

Julian Konzern

Julian closed his eyes and let out a cold sigh.

Everything was an unfixable wreckage of emotions, memories and events. Wales was supposed to be recovering. Yes, he did vomit quite a number of painful times and had yet to walk properly again, but he had been able to keep himself conscious without black spots swimming across his vision this whole time. He had been determined to get better for his friends, including the comatose Tsubasa and their deceased friend Yu, both whom definitely would hate to see Wales in this condition. So what happened? What had caused the sudden wrench in events?

Why... was this happening to someone who had had more than enough to suffer from?

Julian looked down at Wales, whose eyes remained tightly shut as he laid on his bed with an ice pack on his head, and he gritted his teeth.

To someone who didn't deserve it at all?

"I deeply apologize."

Mr Tendo lowered his head, his green eyes sheened with guilt and remorse.

"I came too soon. I was hoping to tell you what I knew about Yu, but I can see that now wasn't the right time." He placed a hand on Wales's shoulder and shook his head.

"I'm truly sorry."

Julian nodded briefly as Sophie assured the elder that it wasn't his fault, but he felt a persistent, unpleasant feeling stir in his gut. He resisted the reflex to narrow his eyes and kept his eyes fixed on Wales. It was not an appropriate time to test his suspicions, but he had a clear idea that something was extremely off. When he was certain that his emotions were safely hidden within himself, he looked up at Mr Tendo, who was talking with Mr Hagane now. It was without a doubt that this elderly man was blood-related to Yu and that he truly loved his grandson dearly. However, the moment Wales collapsed, Julian felt the man's aura shift too suddenly, like there had been something that had been kept concealed and was unleashed in the spur of the moment. Julian could not pinpoint what it was nor had the evidence to bring up the subject now, but the emotions welling up inside of him warned him that he was definitely not going to like it. Noticing that the elder kept his hand on Wales's shoulder, he needed quite the effort to tamp down the strange urge to push the elder's hand off Wales.

But why was he reacting like this to someone who seemed genuinely sincere?

"We'll take care of Wales from here on out."

Klaus looked at the two adults, his lips creased without even a hint of a smile. His eyes met Julian's for a moment, and in an instant, the latter knew.

Klaus knew.

"We can talk about Yu some other time, sirs. For now, Wales needs to rest."

"Oh yes, of course, Klaus." Mr Hagane hastily nodded with an understanding smile. "I truly hope that Wales wakes up soon. He should; after all..."

Sadness flashed in his eyes.

"He has always been strong, for the sake of those he cares about."

After exchanging a few brief goodbyes, the two adults left and shut the door. The three members of Team Excalibur faced one another and Julian spoke first.

"Something isn't right with Mr Tendo."

Kenta Yumiya

"Here you go, sir."

"Thanks."

Gingka took the plastic bag of medicine from the nurse with a courteous smile and turned away from the counter. He, Madoka and Kenta were in the hospital. Not wanting Kenta's condition to worsen, they had taken him to see a doctor and he had prescribed a few pills for the young boy to take, which Gingka had just bought in the pharmacy. Sitting next to Madoka, Kenta weakly kept his head up as Gingka approached them, waving the plastic bag in the air. For the past few days, Kenta had been in an endless cycle of suffering, grief and agony. He could barely talk to any of his best friends, even Gingka, puked the little food that he had had to force down out into the toilet bowl, and jolted up in the middle of the night screaming and crying out for Yu. The guilt that threatened to stab him over and over again only made things worse. He knew that his friends were worried sick about him. They hated seeing him like this. Last night, he had been trying to sleep when he overheard Chris yelling at others outside.

 _I can't freaking take it, Gingka!_ Chris had exclaimed. _I can't freaking take seeing him like that, unable to do much of anything, watching him cry everyday when none of us can stop his pain!_

 _Mr Chris-_ Yuki had begun.

 _Don't you tell me to keep my voice down when you all freaking feel the same freaking way!_ Chris had snapped.

That night, he had buried his face into a pillow and crumbled into tears. His friends were suffering more than they had to, and Kenta felt like it was all his fault. All because he wasn't strong enough to get a grip on himself and pull himself together. All because he could not stop suffering from the very thought that he had to go through life without one of the best friends he ever had, the young blader whom he had promised to have countless battles with. And Kenta knew exactly what they saw when they looked at him. In the bathroom, after another round of vomiting his insides out, he had stared at himself in the mirror. He knew that one quick glance at him was more than enough to say that he was sick. His skin was pallid and his brown eyes were sunken with dark circles around them. As though those signs were not obvious enough, his expression was marred with deep, deep agony, like he could either collapse or vomit any moment.

He knew it.

He knew that he was too weak, even though Yu had always wanted him to remain strong.

And that only made his mind wander off to Wales, Tithi and Tsubasa, all whom, along with Kenta himself, were Yu's closest friends.

He had not heard any news about Wales and Tsubasa.

"Uh... Gingka-"

In the spur of the moment, Gingka and Madoka's phones vibrated. The couple's eyes widened in surprise before they proceeded to check their phones, but not without a quick glance at Kenta. Kenta didn't really think about it, but he knew that his housemates - Gingka, Madoka, Chris and Yuki - had been oddly meticulous when it came to their phone calls and messages. Whenever one of them got a phone call and saw the caller ID, they would immediately excuse themselves from the room. Whenever one of them got a new text, their eyes would turn wary before tapping on their phone screen. That had made Kenta both suspicious and upset; couldn't they trust him? Weren't they all best friends?

Did this have anything to do with Tsubasa and Wales?

"Guys?"

Kenta's voice was feeble; he had barely eaten anything in the morning.

"Is something wrong?"

Gingka's eyes shot wide open, like he had just witnessed a jump scare in a horror movie, and he spun around to face Kenta.

"Erm... it's nothing," Gingka replied hastily, his brown eyes now nervous. "Right, Madoka?"

Madoka quickly nodded. "Yeah, it's nothing."

"Then why does it seem like you're keeping things away from me?" Kenta asked, lowering his eyes. He hesitated for a moment. "Did something happen... to Wales and Tusbasa?"

Gingka and Madoka froze. That gesture was more than enough to send Kenta's heart palpitating with sheer panic and incredulousness.

"Did it?" Kenta questioned, his voice rising with impatience, but also fear.

"We're just worried that-" Madoka tried.

"They are my friends too, guys!" Kenta exclaimed, his throat raw and aching. "Look, I know you are worried about me, but I need to know if they're okay. I saw the look in their eyes that day and... if I'm not okay, then what about them?"

"Kenta," Gingka glanced anxiously at the patients and nurses staring at them, "I think we should go-"

"No," Kenta refused adamantly. "Not until you tell me what is going on."

Gingka and Madoka looked at each other, and Kenta could see the whirlpool of emotions in their eyes: fear, worry, anguish, ambivalence. And as much as Kenta did not want to admit it, he was afraid. Just how awful had everything been? How awful had it been that Kenta's friends had felt the need to hide everything from him? After a few moments of cold silence, Gingka placed a hand on Kenta's shoulder and gave him a bleak smile.

"We're so sorry, Kenta."

Slowly, Gingka began to tell Kenta about Tsubasa currently being in a coma, causing the younger boy's heart to tremble. _T-Tsubasa... Wales... guys..._ Just as Gingka proceeded to talk about Wales, Kenta felt everything collapse in his chest like they had just a few days ago, and he broke down into a mess of sobs and excruciating emotions. He gritted his teeth, not caring as warm tears slipped down his cheeks, squeezing his eyes shut as Gingka wrapped his arms around him tightly.

_Why...?_

_Why... is this happening?_

_Wales..._ _Tsubasa_ _...._

Gingka whispered "I'm sorry" over and over again as Kenta cried into his shoulder, unable to bear everything anymore.

_Yu._

Wales

When Wales woke up, the first thing that he saw was the pale orange light that landed on his face. The curtains had yet to be pulled to a close and he could see the luminous sun sinking into the horizon on the other side of the glass, staining the infinite expanse of the sky a brilliant orange, yellow, pink and red like an artist splashing paint all over his canvas. Despite the throbbing of his head, Wales managed to crack a slight smile.

"Wales?"

He slowly shifted and saw Sophie staring down at him, her eyes filled with surprise and relief. He did his best to smile.

"Hey... Sophie." He grunted softly as he carefully pulled himself up into a sitting position with Sophie's help. "How long was I gone?"

"For about four hours," Sophie answered, glancing at the round blue-framed clock that hung on the wall. Her gaze was filled with pure worry and agony as she squeezed his hand gently. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I guess," Wales replied, rubbing his throbbing forehead. He looked around the room. "Where are Julian and Klaus?"

"Right here."

Julian was at the kitchen, a pot boiling on the electric stove, while Klaus stepped away from the corner of the room, his arms folded. Klaus grinned as Julian switched the stove off.

"Finally awake from hibernation, Wales?" Klaus teased.

Wales let out a playful scoff. "I think you need to get your facts checked. Humans do not hibernate and if you're talking about Cetus, they migrate, not hibernate."

Klaus let out a hearty laugh. "There's our smart, savage boy."

That made everyone, including Julian who was approaching them, laugh. It felt really strange, honestly. Wales could not recall the last time they laughed this lightly ever since- Wales found himself recoiling at the memory of the lance thrusting itself through Yu's chest and the tears shimmering in the young boy's eyes as his life was leeched away from him. He shook his head, the agony trapping his heart within himself again, and when he looked up, his friends' expressions had changed into those of sheer concern.

Was he ever going to be less obvious?

Probably not.

"Wales."

Julian's voice was oddly quiet.

"Do you remember what you and Sophie said to me back in Hades City? About Excalibur?"

Puzzled, Wales tried to skim through the memories of his aching head and asked, "When you were close to losing to Dashan, right?"

Julian smiled amusedly. "Well, the loss isn't exactly the most pleasant memory, but yes, it was at that point in time."

His own, Julian and Sophie's voices resonated inside my head like a nostalgic song and the words that the former was most likely referring to clicked inside Wales's mind.

"We are Excalibur. The proud, invisible sword."

"That's right," Julian confirmed, nodding briefly, "and after I lost, I promised you guys that we would rebuild Excalibur and that it would become a stronger one, didn't I?"

Wales nodded with a faint smile. "Yeah." The memory of himself smiling widely and Sophie tearing up with pure happiness glowed inside his head. "And you fulfilled that promise. We became closer and stronger as a team of bladers and as a group of childhood friends."

"And now I've decided that we're no longer calling ourselves Excalibur."

Wales's eyes dilated in pure shock and disbelief. "What?"

Sophie was staring at Julian while Klaus's eyes widened slightly.

"Julian?" Sophie inquired, her soft voice filled with astonishment.

"You heard me. We are no longer Team Excalibur. We are no longer the team of four that transformed a showcase of pride and honour into a fight in order to grow together as both bladers and people, that did everything to sharpen the sword that is our strength. We will always be wielding the sword of Excalibur and be the sword itself altogether, but that is no longer the name that represents us."

Julian closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath before letting it out.

"We are Aozora."

Wales could feel his heart quivering with sheer emotion. "Julian..."

"We are Aozora. The infinite expanse of colours and light. The unity of the sun's fire, the eagle's gales, the ocean's eyes and the birds that take flight. We are the power that joins us together like the colours of the same sky, the voices that call and encourage during even the most painful of times, the..."

"The light that touches one another's hearts," Wales recited from heart, his lips slanted into a sincere smile, "for the sword that defeated the cold eyes of Medusa is finally glowing with a bright radiance."

He then stared at Julian in pure bewilderment.

"How did you find t-"

"Your notebook was open on the desk when I woke up a few weeks ago," Julian said, "and it was coincidentally turned to the page of your draft for a slogan for Team Aozora." He cracked a smile. "You never told me you were a good writer."

Wales let out a laugh. "Well, I picked up a thing or two from reading Sophie's books and writings."

Sophie smiled warmly and that made Wales smile even more.

"Yu stuck with the meaning of Aozora until the very end."

Julian proceeded as Wales' eyes widened at his close friend's words.

"He did everything he could as a person, a friend and a blader at such a young age, and he set the sky alight with such a scintillating, passionate radiance. He did all that with utmost sincerity and was so powerful and yet incredibly modest."

Julian's normally-sharp blue eyes softened.

"He saved all of us. We won against Jason and Hayoto because of him. Because he wasn't going to leave us all behind after his sacrifice. And also, because he wants us to live. He wants us all to live and be able to smile, even without him."

Julian placed a hand on Wales's shoulder and Wales could see the tears glimmering inside his friend's eyes.

"So live for him. Fight to claim the happiness that you both desire, because you deserve it. Live the life as the Wales that he took a lethal blow for. It hurts, yes, and I'm not sure it'll ever stop hurting, but from all the time I've known him, he only wants you to have the best. He fought and smiled until the very end and so should you. So should all of us. And don't you ever think that you're on your own, because you're not."

Julian's hand gave Wales's shoulder a tight squeeze as tears ran down the Destroyer blader's face.

"Because all six of us - you, me, Sophie, Klaus, Tsubasa and Yu - we'll always be one. We are all Aozora, you got that?"

Wales could feel his lips quivering as warm tears slid down his face like rivers. He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a choked sob as his friends' arms wrapped themselves around him, warm and tight, just like their bonds with one another. He cried, not caring how many tears fell, not caring how many sobs he choked on, words, memories and emotions all flooding through him like a thousand waves, and his friends, although silent, all understood and let him cry as much as he wanted to.

And he did.

Yuki Mizusawa

"You freaking told the kid, Gingka?"

"He wasn't going to stop unless we did, Chris!"

"And here I thought that I could rely on you to act smart in these situations."

"Calm down, Mr Chr-"

"Shut up, Yuki!"

Yuki flinched as Chris continued shouting at Gingka, who was trying but failing to defend himself. He, Chris, Gingka and Madoka were all outside their bedroom, in the living room. When Gingka, Madoka and Kenta returned from the hospital, Chris and Yuki had immeiately noticed the tears streaking the Sagittario blader's face and the former had become livid. Madoka was glancing back and front at the two arguing Legendary Bladers, trying to mediate the situation, but it wasn't working. Yuki nervously glanced at the door to their bedroom, afraid that Kenta would hear the argument.

"Kenta might hear us!"

"What's the point of hiding it from him anyway? He already knows what he shouldn't thanks to freaking Ging-"

"Guys."

Everyone froze at the creaking of the door and the soft, agonized voice. Kenta slowly stepped into the living room, his face still paler than usual, his brown eyes glistening with tears and sheer agony.

"Stop fighting, please. Don't fight because of me. Don't fight because I'm too weak to accept that Yu's gone. Because I can't move on without breaking down every minute or so."

Chris vigorously shook his head. "Don't freaking say that-"

"But it's true. I am weak." Kenta's voice trembled with self-loathe. "I can't face the pain without crying. I can't see Yu in my head without being haunted by the fact that he's gone. I'm not okay. I don't know when I'll be okay again and thanks to that, you guys aren't okay either. We're not okay and that's on me and only me."

"That's rubbish and you know that, Kenta!" Chris shouted, his face blotched bright cerise. "Yeah, we aren't okay, but do you really think that it's so wrong not to be? That it's wrong that you're facing trouble moving on when Yu was one of the closest friends you ever had?"

Kenta gritted his teeth, hanging his head. "But I-"

"And now you're making excuses for thinking that-"

"You're not thinking straight, Chris!" Madoka cried out.

"Oh, _I'm_ not?"

"Chris, Madoka didn't mean-"

"Shouldn't you know better when to shut up after all that-"

"Chris-"

"Don't cut in when I-"

"Guys, stop yelling already!" Yuki shrieked, unable to take it anymore. He could feel everyone's stares weighing heavily on him, but the words kept gushing out of his mouth like a torrent. "This wasn't what Yu wanted! This isn't what Yu would ever want from us! He saved us so that we could live, even if it had to be without him. Grieving for him does not mean that we should be tearing each other apart, guys! Stop blaming one another when the ones we should be blaming are Jason, Hayoto and utterly ruthless fate itself! All of us are suffering, some even more than others, and if that's the case, so be it. So be it as no matter how much pain we feel..." His voice cracked as warm tears slipped down his cheeks, "it doesn't change anything. It doesn't change the fact that Yu's gone. That Yu died in the process of saving Wales and that we've lost one of the brightest, kindest and smartest bladers we've ever met and I don't think we'll ever find anyone like him."

He gritted his teeth tightly.

"And I-"

But the more he spoke, the more Yuki felt his heart shattering into pieces at the cold truth in his words. It was strange, really. He hadn't felt this broken or upset about Yu's death before this very moment. He was devastated, yes, but right now, the pain that he was feeling, the tremendous sadness and grief that was overwhelming him like an uncontrollable maelstrom, and in an instant, Yuki let out a strangled cry. His fists were shaking and so was every inch of his soul, and he felt a hand place itself softly on his shoulder. He looked up and met Kenta's eyes, which were filled with tears and pure anguish. Kenta did not say anything, but he encircled his arms around Yuki and squeezed him tightly, his sobs filling the latter's ears. One by one, everyone, even Chris, joined the hug and the five of them, Team Sekai, just stood there in the living room, hugging in a place of tears, mourning and sorrow.

_We'll move on together, but Yu..._

Yuki's heart was heavy with remorse,

_you deserved to be with us._

Wales

At night, Wales looked down at his notebook and turned to the pages on which he had written his slogan for Team Aozora.

_We are Aozora. The infinite expanse of colours and light. The unity of the sun's fire, the eagle's gales, the ocean's eyes and the birds that take flight. We are the power that joins us together like the colours of the same sky, the voices that call and encourage during even the most painful of times, the light that touches one another's hearts, for the sword that defeated the cold eyes of Medusa is finally glowing with a bright radiance._

Below the slogan, there was half a page of empty space. Smiling briefly, Wales took a blue pen and wrote:

_You shone_ _brilliantly_ _, Yu. You were the fire to our sun, the blue to our sky, the yellow flower to our field. You were kind, bright, friendly, modest and cheerful; all the very qualities that I severely lacked before I met you. And I regret not telling this to you when you were still alive, and that I never would, but... you touched my heart. You touched everyone's hearts and made us all smile with hearts filled with your warmth and radiance. You soared, shone and fought with everything, with your heart, soul, mind and spirit, all while touching everyone's hearts, including my dark, cold one. You saved me and now... I will do everything I can to live for us, to smile for us, for we... we are the heart of the blue sky._

Taking a deep breath, Wales felt his heart soften and saw Yu in his head, his emerald eyes illuminated by a sincere smile brighter than the sun of a summer day.

_We are_ _Aozora_ _._

???

Roger Tendo sat in his living room, staring down at his canvas. He did not say a word in the silent night, but the atmosphere was somehow heavy with apprehension. His right hand trembled once as he struggled to remember what had happened back in Tsubasa's house. The prominent memory that swam inside the elderly man's head was the moment in which he shook hands with Wales, one of his grandson's best friends and teammates, but he could not seem to comprehend why. Not only that, but he could hardly recall what had occurred afterwards. It was as though he had only been an observer of himself rather than be the one in control of his own body. But how-

A chill ran down his spine. An all-too familiar chill. And unbeknownst to him, someone was watching the elderly artist from within the shadows and that the person's face was twisted into a cold, cunning smirk.

_The cursed touch, an evanescent possession._

He sneered through the window.

_Let the drowning continue, dear boy._

...

In the morgue, there was a line of bodies awaiting burial. One of them had been the body of a young, vibrant blader who had made everyone around him smile with pure sincerity. However, when a diener came to the morgue the following morning for his shift, his eyes were wide open beyond comprehension.

The boy's body was gone.


	42. Live On

Wales

"I beg your pardon? Do you mind repeating that?"

"The boy's body has vanished, sir," the diener repeated, shaking his head at Julian, whose blue eyes were narrowed. "I came early in the morning and saw that the space that Yu Tendo's body was supposed to occupy was empty."

"Oh no."

Wales looked down, unable to fathom what had happened. A few hours ago, Julian had received a call from the diener, who had half-panicked-half-told him the news. So he, Wales, Klaus and Sophie had all gone to the morgue right after breakfast, needing more details about the situation. Everyone had planned to have Yu's funeral in 3 weeks as quite a number of them were still reeling and struggling to recover from Yu's death. Wales held the wheels of his wheelchair, uncertain how Yu's body could just disappear from the morgue, especially with no signs of a break-in. Besides...

What could anyone want from stealing Yu's body?

"Does anyone else have access to the morgue?" Wales inquired.

"Other than Shinji and myself, no," the diener responded, "and Shinji is currently sick with a high fever."

"I see." Julian nodded, his eyes still narrowed as he shook the diener's hand. " Thank you for your time, Hinata. Please call us if you find the body.

Hinata nodded. "Of course, sir."

Klaus proceeded to push Wales' wheelchair as the group of four, no longer Team Excalibur but four of the six members of Team Aozora, headed across the fields of viridian grass, a myriad of tumblestones not too far away from them. On one of the stones, there was a carving of the words:

You showed me how to love. And now I can never stop loving.

Wales' lips curved into a bitter smile.

_That's exactly what you guys all did for me, including you, Yu._

"Are we going to tell the others?" Sophie asked once they had reached the car.

"Not yet," Julian responded, shaking his head. "I will personally speak to Shinji about this to confirm his innocence, because he and Hinata are the only ones with access and Hinata, from what I can tell, is telling the truth."

"But why would anyone steal Yu's body?" Wales inquired, still bemused.

Klaus shook his head and his eyes darted over to Julian, who closed his sharp blue ones. Confused, Wales looked at Sophie, but his girlfriend's olive eyes showed as much obliviousness as he felt. Uneasiness pricked at his heart.

"Julian? Klaus?"

Julian glanced around a few times before beckoning Wales and Sophie closer and talking in a low voice.

"They never recovered the bodies."

"Bodies?" Sophie whispered in puzzlement as Wales frowned.

Julian sighed quietly. "Jason and Hayoto."

Wales' eyes dilated. "What?"

"The construction workers have been clearing out the rubble and have found the corpses of the underlings, but none of the bodies found belonged to Hayoto or Jason."

Julian looked straight at Wales and Sophie, his blue eyes filled with both anguish and worry. Wales could feel Sophie's hand on his shoulder trembling and he grasped it, for both her and himself.

_No-_

"They may very well still be alive."

Kenta Yumiya

"What did they say, Dashan?"

"Julian said that they are close to arriving," Dashan answered, smiling slightly at Gingka. "About five minutes, to be exact."

"Thanks, Dashan!" Gingka beamed.

Dashan nodded with a smile as his eyes returned to the menu in his hands. Kenta smiled lightly as he looked through the menu and his friends started chatting. Kenta, Gingka, Madoka, Chris and Yuki were at a diner with Team Wang Hu Zhong, sitting at a long wooden table. They were waiting for Wales, Sophie, Julian and Klaus to arrive and Kenta tried his best to be patient, especially eager to see Wales. The last time that he saw Wales was the dawn Team Aozora defeated Jason and Hayoto, after they had managed to escape the castle. Kenta vividly remembered the look in Wales' heterochromatic eyes, one which was granted by Yu's last wishes, how they were filled with pure anguish, loss and grief, how they glimmered with tears in the first day that they all had to spend without their close friend and ally, Yu.

"Hey, Gingka! If you could challenge one of them to a battle right now, who would it be?"

"Why only one? I wanna battle all of them!"

"You sound like freaking Masamune!"

"Hey!"

Everyone laughed, but Kenta only managed to crack a smile that he wasn't sure was even real. He was trying his best to be happy, to move on not just for himself but for his friends too. But could he... really do that? Could he really move on from Yu? From one of the closest friends he'd ever had? He felt someone pat him on the shoulder and he turned to Yuki, who gave him a smile of understanding.

"Yuki?"

"It's okay to smile, Kenta," he assured Kenta with a light tone, and Kenta knew that he meant it.

Kenta cracked a smile at that, but a part of him felt guilty that he could smile in this world whereas Yu couldn't. It had been a number of days ever since Yu passed away in Wales' arms, but Kenta had yet to truly heal from it, to truly accept it. He wasn't actually sure how much he'd really accepted the fact that Yu was gone, because if he still felt this way, didn't it mean that he had not accepted reality for what it was?

"Hey, this looks nice." Yuki tapped Kenta on the shoulder and pointed at the menu. "You like sweet things, right? So wanna try their rainbow sherbet milkshake?"

Kenta was about to answer when the glass doors to the diner flung open, revealing Team Excalibur, with Sophie carefully pushing Wales' wheelchair. Kenta's eyes widened in reflex.

"Hey, guys!" Gingka called out, waving with a bright smile. "Over here!"

All four members of Team Excalibur turned and Wales' green and blue eyes met Kenta's brown ones. _Wales_... Kenta thought, his heart faltering for some reason. After what felt like ages, Kenta could finally see Wales again, talk to him about Yu. He felt like out of all of them here, Wales would be the one who understood how Kenta felt the most, and looking at Wales now, he knew that the older boy had endured the same grief and agony that he felt. The black eye bags that marred his refined features, the sorrow etched on his usually-calm face, the pain that crossed his face whenever he looked down at his wounded legs... Wales had clearly suffered all this time and Kenta did not need to be with him 24/7 to know that. As the bladers greeted one another, Wales offered Kenta a faint smile and slight nod. In return, Kenta did his best to smile.

He really needed to talk to Wales.

Wales

"Is here good?"

"This is perfect, Kenta." Wales nodded with a light smile. "Thanks."

Kenta smiled back and stopped the black wheelchair near the rim of the pond. Kenta had told Wales that he wanted some time alone to talk, and everyone had agreed to Kenta's request, including Wales himself. So while everyone else stayed at the diner, Kenta and Wales went to the nearest park and stopped by the pond. Kenta made sure one last time that the wheelchair was fine before sitting cross-legged next to him on the soft viridescent grass and taking his plastic cup of cold rainbow sherbet milkshake out of his backpack.

Gently stirring his cold Earl Grey milk tea, Wales smiled faintly at the sight.

_It's calm._

"Hey, Wales?"

"Yes?" Wales asked, turning to Kenta. If Wales was to be completely honest, Kenta looked the most wrecked out of everyone that he saw at the diner. Back when Tsubasa was in the ICU, Wales had heard the others talk about Kenta's condition, about how the young boy could barely sleep and vomited and cried throughout the night. It worried Wales, but it did not surprise him; Kenta was extremely close to Yu too.

"Uh... how have you been?"

That was a strange way to start the conversation between the two bladers, but Wales appreciated the younger boy's efforts and merely shook his head.

"Terrible."

Kenta slowly nodded. "You're not the only one."

"I figured."

Looking down at the ice cubes wobbling in the milk tea, Wales let out a heavy sigh and lowered his voice.

"I miss Yu."

The words did nothing to soothe the agony of his heart, but they were the pure truth, even if it was too heavy for him to bear at times.

"Yeah," Kenta uttered, smiling weakly. "I miss him too. I miss him so much."

Wales nodded in understanding.

"But I keep worrying my friends because of it," Kenta continued, his voice cracking slightly. "They are all in pain as well and ever since Yu died, they all had to worry about me too. I couldn't sleep, eat or do much of anything. And when I noticed that they'd been hiding what happened to you and Tsubasa, I yelled at Gingka and Madoka when they were only protecting me from breaking even more, which... I did. And all this time... protecting others..."

Tears slipped down the green-haired boy's cheeks.

"Is what I've kept failing to do."

Kenta squeezed his eyes shut tightly, like seeing the world around him would only torture him.

"And now... Yu's gone because I failed. Because I couldn't be strong enough, even for him."

After Kenta finished, a mist of deep, thoughtful silence shrouded them and Wales looked straight at the pond before his eyes, at the physical, non-living objects that Yu had enabled his damaged eye to finally be able to see. The water was quiet, gentle and unmoving, like light, feathery air, a pale, innocuous blue like the bright sky above them. Clusters of red, pink, yellow and orange flowers adorned the oval-shaped rim of the pond like unblinking, festive lights and olive leaves quietly descended down the vast treetops like baby birds taking their first flights in slow motion, dipping down the sky like it was effortless. Wales inwardly appreciated the scenery; it cleared his head and made it easier for him to decide on what response he should give the younger boy next to him.

"How much strength you, I or any of the others had... was not what got Yu killed."

Wales felt his heart clench in pain, but he continued for Kenta and his own sake.

"He could have let me take the blow and die, Kenta. If he did not run and take the blow, it would have been me. It should have been me and no one can say otherwise. But one thing that we both know to well is that... Yu has a big heart. He was so kind that he was more than willing to die if it meant saving my life and he did."

Wales felt tears stinging his eyes, but he did not care even the slightest bit.

"Yu was the youngest blader I knew and he had an abundance of so many of the things that I lacked before I met him. Kindness, empathy, honesty, humility, sincerity... He had all of it and shone with such a bright, undying radiance that I sometimes wondered if I deserved to be with him. And between him and me, it's no secret that he's the better one, and yet when it came down to the battle with Hayoto and Jason, he was the one... who lost his life. He gave up his own life for someone like me. And he... he smiled. He smiled through his tears until the very end, not regretting a single thing, and because of that... neither should we."

Kenta was hiccuping through his sobs as Wales faced the boy, tears slipping down both of their faces, a sorrowful, unspoken understanding between them.

"Neither of us failed Yu. Neither of us should be blaming ourselves for this, for being unable to stop what happened, because it's not on us. I will not lie when I say that I wished Yu was still here, that he was alive and well because he deserved to live and be happy as much as we did, and that I had wished the same wistful wish too many times to even count. But that's a wish that cannot be granted, no matter how much we wish or hope for it, and... it breaks me, but... it tells me that I have to live on. To not forget him, but to also remember to live. For him, for everyone else that I love and care about, and even... for myself."

Although his eyes were blurred with warm tears, Wales placed a hand on Kenta's shoulder and gave him a cracked, but earnest smile.

"So let's live on for him, alright?"

Slowly nodding, Kenta pulled himself up and stepped towards Wales. In less than a minute, Kenta had his arms wrapped around Wales tightly and he was sobbing into the older boy's chest, wetting his blue T-shirt with a warm deluge of tears. Squeezing his eyes shut, Wales slowly hugged Kenta back, allowing his own tears to fall onto the younger boy's back.

_Yu. The days that will come will never be as bright as they used to be when you were still here. Neither will the sun, the stars, the water nor the skies that await our attempts to reach out to them as they will not stop missing your scintillating radiance. But we will live on in this world. We will smile, laugh and have one another's backs no matter how hard, no matter how much pain lies ahead._

Wales felt his lips curve into a weak smile as he rubbed Kenta on the back, listening to his muffled sobs that Wales knew would never fail to linger in his memories whenever he thought of the younger boy.

_So when we see you again, Yu..._

_We can truly say that we lived for you._

Sophie

"Come at me, Gingka!"

"You bet, Julian!"

"You're going down, Dashan!"

"Prove it to me, my friend."

Sophie smiled faintly as she watched the bey battles that were taking place in the park's beyblading arenas. Gingka and Chris were battling Julian and Dashan who currently had the upper hand due to their shatterproof chemistry and techniques that caught their opponents off-guard. Sophie laughed softly as Chris yelled at Gingka and Chao Xin joined the newly-sparked argument.

"They can be really funny, right, Ms Sophie?"

Sophie smiled warmly up at Yuki, who smiled politely and took a seat next to her on the maroon bench.

"Yes," Sophie agreed. "It's quite refreshing; it feels like it's been a long time since they had this much fun."

"Yeah."

Yuki gave Sophie another smile, but it was tinted with sadness.

"I really hope Mr Wales and Kenta are doing fine."

Sophie rubbed Yuki's back softly and smiled at the younger boy. "I'm sure they are. I'm sure they're being there for each other, Yuki."

Yuki opened his mouth to speak, but a horrifying blast erupted into their ears, and it did not come from the friendly battles that were currently taking place, shaking the ground. Sophie's eyes dilated as she spun around to face the direction from which the blast came from.

Her heart froze.

It came from the pond.

Wales

"Kenta! Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Kenta coughed a few times, his eyes narrowed with discomfort. He gave Wales a perplexed look. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Wales answered honestly, glancing around the area that had yet to be cleared from the thick dust that shrouded the air. "But let's get out of here while we still can, okay?"

"Got it!"

The leaves still rustling from the horrendous resonance of the blast, Kenta hurriedly pulled the wheelchair away from the lake and turned it around, but suddenly, Wales heard the slicing of a sharp wind from his left.

"Look out, Kenta!" Wales yelled.

Without a moment of hesitation, Wales grabbed his launcher and Blue Cetus and shot the bey at the direction from which the sound came from, his heart pulsating with adrenaline, fear, and worry like an uncontrollable drum, ready to burst at any moment. And in less than a split-second, Blue Cetus collided heavily with another bey in the sky and triggered a colossal explosion of black and blue. Wales saw a figure amidst the clouds of smoke and dust and prepared to fight as Kenta prepared his bey.

"Let's go, Wales!" Kenta whispered loudly.

Wales nodded briefly. "Yeah."

The smoke and dust cleared after a few more moments, but when Wales identified their attacker, his eyes only widened in shock, disbelief and terror.

"N-No..." Kenta uttered softly, his voice trembling. "It just... can't be."

A hooded figure, one of Jason and Hayoto's henchmen, was standing only a few metres away from them, his face concealed by the signature grey hood. But that was not the problem; if it was only the henchman, Kenta and Wales would not have a problem. Wales felt his heart clench at the sagging body that the henchman gripped by the arm, at the lifeless expression on the owner of the body's bruised face, at the purple bey that spun viciously with an element that it should never have touched: darkness.

"Tsubasa!" Wales yelled out in anguish.

???

A boy wearing a hooded black jacket smirked evilly, fully aware of the chaotic scenes that were unfolding before his very eyes. The one-eyed kid and a little pathetic boy must be struggling to fathom how on earth their opponent was Eagle Boy and he took pleasure in their horror and suffering. He grinned at the fact that he had narrowly escaped death as his adoptive father saved him by using the remnants of his strength to teleport out of the building and to an abandoned warehouse not too far from where what-used-to-be Midnight Castle was.

_Dad told me not to battle yet, but..._

His jet-black eyes glinted with a sadistic smile.

_Even without doing so, that one-eyed kid shall finally drown before me!_


	43. Song of an End

Wales

"Tsubasa!"

Wales yelled out to his close friend, but the silver-haired teen did not respond. Not that he could; his eyes were shut and his face was frozen in an agonized expression, not a hint of consciousness able to be detected on his bruised face. And the mere facts that the hooded henchman was holding onto Tsubasa like a lumpy sack and that the latter's bey was being controlled like this made a cold anger combust inside Wales' blood and he gritted his teeth.

"Let him go!" Wales shouted, turning on the henchman. "What did you psychos do to him? Is this another one of Hayoto and Jason's tricks?"

"Jason? Hayoto?" Kenta repeated, his voice filled with confusion. "But I thought we defeated them-"

"Look out, Kenta!"

A possessed Eagle sent rays of indigo beams shooting right at Kenta like flamethrowers, but Wales yelled out to Blue Cetus and it conjured up its shield, barely saving Kenta from the vicious attacks.

"Their bodies were never found," Wales felt like he was about to puke, "Kenta."

"What?" Kenta exclaimed, his eyes widened with terror.

"Julian personally checked with the workers and they-" Wales shook his head. "I'll explain everything later, Kenta. For now, we need to rescue Tsubasa, so Kenta..."

Wales gave the green-haired boy a faint smile.

"Please lend me your strength."

Kenta nodded with a determined smile. "You got it, Wales!"

The Saggitario blader gripped his launcher and shouted, "Let it rip!" and Flash Saggitario was fired towards Eagle and the two beys collided metal against metal, triggering another explosion.

However, Eagle was not weakened by the slightest iota.

"His bey has evolved, so it's all the more harder to weaken it," Wales noted, gritting his teeth. Not that Wales ever minded when Tsubasa was on _their_ side. He lowered his eyes in agony as Blue Cetus and Saggitario trapped Eagle in a pincer attack, sending orange and yellow sparks flying on the olive grass. "Tsubasa..."

This was the last thing Wales wanted. Ever since Tsubasa fell into a coma, Wales had been praying that he would wake up soon, that he would be alright, that they would all live on together and be there for one another. Wales remembered placing the black choker that he had always worn in Tsubasa's palm with tears stinging his eyes, the latter's hand too cold in his, the warm memories that they had shared with each other, Yu, Sophie and the others too painful in his head. He never wanted anything like this to happen. Wales would gladly die rather than go anywhere near hurting those he loved and cared about, and he cared about and loved Tsubasa like an older brother. And God knew how much pain Tsubasa could be suffering inside of him as his body and bey were used against his own friends against his will.

_We've lost Yu because of you psychos._

As his emotions rose like the snow that buried what could never be recovered, Wales felt tears on the verge of falling, but he clenched his fists and teeth to not let them fall.

_We won't let you take_ _Tsubasa_ _away either! I swear on my life!_

"Let's activate our special moves, Kenta!" Wales yelled.

"Yeah!" Kenta yelled back.

"Cetus: Ocean Hurricane!"

"Saggitario: Diving Arrow!"

Countless arrows engulfed in orange and yellow flames cascaded down onto Eagle as Blue Cetus sent a massive hurricane of wind and water right at Eagle, and the lone bey had nowhere to run or hide as both special moves easily made direct contact with it. But that was what made Wales' heart sink with discomfort: _easily_. It was just _too easy_. And this was not Wales being cocky or arrogant by even the slightest bit; this was Wales being wary, worried and most of all, afraid.

Why wasn't the hooded blader fighting back?

Wales glanced at Kenta and saw suspicion and wariness that he felt inside the younger blader's brown eyes. Eagle had a number of powerful special moves in its arsenal, so why wasn't it using any of them? Why did Eagle just _take_ the attacks? It was only when the smoke subsided and Eagle was revealed to have been weakened when the hooded blader revealed Eagle's trump card.

"Lilac Song," he uttered motonously.

Sophie

"Kenta!"

"Wales!"

Sophie, Julian, Klaus, Dashan, Yuki ans the others sprinted as fast as they could towards the pond, her heart pulsating uncontrollably. Wales and Kenta were alone at the pond area and with the newly-discovered possibility of Jason and Hayoto being alive, Sophie was trying not to panic as memories of the times that Wales was forced to face them flashed inside her head like red sirens. Wales had been through too much and had yet to recover and so did Kenta. So they had yet to regain their full power and Sophie knew what Jason and Hayoto were capable of:

_Killing._

Sophie felt an icy chill run down her spine as she shook her head and prepared White Cetus.

_I will not let anything happen to Wales and Kenta!_

However, Sophie felt herself bump into something and was repelled backwards, thrown into the air.

"Sophie!" Julian yelled out.

Sophie felt herself bump into a hard chest and a hand grab her arm before she fell onto the ground. Sighing with relief, Sophie turned and smiled at Dashan, who returned the smile.

"Is that a... barrier?" Gingka asked.

"Seems like it, Mr Gingka," Yuki replied. "An invisible one."

"Those snakes..." Klaus muttered angrilly.

"Guys, we've got company."

Madoka's warning raised Sophie's guard and she could hear footsteps coming from every direction. Chao Xin, Chris and Klaus cursed at the familiar hooded bladers that surrounded them with launchers pointed at the group of friends.

"Those nutjobs..." Chao Xin growled.

"Careful, Chao Xin," Dashan warned. "Don't let your anger cloud your head and prevent you from focusing on the battle in hand."

"It's not easy when they might already have Wales and Kenta at their mercy," Chao Xin retorted.

Dashan did not reprimand Chao Xin for his argument, and Sophie could understand why. The battle at Midnight Castle and Yu's sacrificed had changed all of them. It had struck all of them like knives in the heart and brought them closer together amidst their anguish and grief. They had lost an irreplaceable, young friend and blader; they did not want to lose anybody else. Sophie attached White Cetus to her launcher and remembered how Wales had always protected her, cared about her and loved her more than he even loved himself, and how he had cried into her arms every night after Yu died for him. All those memories made tears well up inside Sophie's eyes, but she held them back and tightened her grip on her launcher.

That broken Wales... was the most excruciating sight that Sophie had ever had to face.

"Let's go, Zurafa!"

"Go, Destroyer!"

"Get 'em, Virgo!"

"Anubius!"

With all her might, Sophie pulled the launcher and sent White Cetus knocking numerous beys away, her light blue aura radiating around her.

She wanted more than anything to make sure that no one had to suffer that same pain ever again.

Wales

"Lilac Song."

Wales was more than aware of the existence of Eagle's healing special move; it was one of Wales' favourite special moves, but one that often made him worry about Tsubasa. Lilac Song healed and strengtened the owner's bey and its allies, but as a consequence, the owner's energy would be heavily drained up to the point of near collapse. A chill ran down Wales' spine as Tsubasa's limp, sagging body glowed with a lilac aura and Eagle began spinning faster, but those were not the problem. Wales could see his close friend's skin turning even more pallid with each passing second and sweat was dripping from his forehead even though he was unconscious, and Wales could have sworn that his body sagged even more when the hooded blader was done with him.

_Is this some sick joke?_

Wales had to grip the ends of his wheelchair tightly to stop himself from losing control of his anger at that very moment.

_You're literally leeching his_ **life** _away from him!_

"What do you think you're doing to him?" Kenta screamed, his brown eyes blazing with utmost indignance. "Can't you see how much you're torturing him? And he's already unconscious, so stop it already!"

"Do you think you can make me?"

The henchman's voice was devoid of emotion as Wales and Kenta stared at him in pure rage.

"The more you weaken Eagle, the more I'll drain the life out of your comatose friend," he continued, and Walea felt a pang of realization and agony pierce through his heart. "You know, even if you do nothing, I can just repeat the same command and in a while, your friend will be completely drained of his own soul."

"Let Tsubasa-" Kenta started.

"Eagle."

Eagle knocked Sagittario away and sent a blast of indigo and lilac straight at Kenta. Wales tried to move his wheelchair to protect Kenta, but the blast was too fast and the latter was thrown into the air and crashed onto the ground metres away from Wales, the hooded figure and Tsubasa.

"Kenta!" Wales shouted as Kenta slowly looked up from the ground, the latter's teeth gritted in pain.

Wales felt the tears, fear and desperation overwhelm him like a tidal wave and he tried to keep himself together as his mind ran through a thousand scattered thoughts, hoping to find a way out of this. This couldn't be happening. This just couldn't be happening now! He did not want to be driven to a corner like this. He did not want to be driven to a point that he could do nothing to save those he cared about the most, to find a way out of this deadly situation. Not after he'd been taught how to be stronger as a person and blader. Not after he had lost one of the people he cared about more than anyone, including himself. He helplessly observed as Kenta attempted to force himself up and looked at Wales with a broken expression, tears slipping down his cheeks.

"So what do you want?" Wales asked, his voice close to cracking. "Just tell us and let him go!"

"I want," Wales heard the henchman say, "an eye for an eye."

Wales' eyes dilated, but before he or Kenta could say a word, Tsubasa's limp body began walking on its own, circling the lake, slowly approaching them.

"When your suffering is satisfying enough," the hooded henchman continued as a controlled Tsubasa stepped closer, "I swear on Master Jason's name that I'll let your friend go."

Right after the last syllable came out of the henchman's mouth, Tsubasa was right in front of Wales, who could only sit on the wheelchair and stare at his close friend with fear, terror and anguish crossing his heart all at once.

In a flash, a cold fist slammed against Wales' face.

Tsubasa Otori

_Breathe..._

_B-_ _Breat_ _..._

_I can't.... breathe._

Tsubasa could not open his eyes, but he had a feeling that he was not in the real world. He felt like he was floating in a chasm of nothingness, without a say in what he did or did not do. He tried to move his arms, but it only sent jolts of pain through them. He tried to open his eyes, but it only made his head even heavier. He could hardly even breathe. It was like someone was holding him captive and he was losing more and more air and control of himself with each failed attempt and he could not understand why.

_"_ _Tsubasa_ _!"_

His mind could hardly even register the owner of the voice as his head grew heavier, but he knew that it was the voice of someone he knew. Someone close. A boy. Not a baritone, but not high-pitched either. Not hysterical, but filled with pure anguish. As though his sixth sense knew what was going on and was trying to act on it, Tsubasa tried to move again, tried to remember, tried to get a grip on himself, but the agony confining him only amplified like a tune of death, causing him to mentally groan in anguish.

_"Tsubas- Ugh...!"_

Again, the voice rang inside his head, this time filled with even more agony. Again, he failed to seize control of himself again. But a part of him knew that it was someone that meant terribly much to him. Someone whom he would gladly die for. Someone whose back he had and whom had his back too. And a horrendous, dreadful feeling sank inside his heart as he tried to overcome the pain, tried to get back everything that was being drained away from him.

_Am I... hurting him?_

A blurred image of a fist colliding against a face and a horrified Tsubasa yelled out, struggling to fight against his own body, trying to stop his own body from doing what he highly suspected it was doing. But the pain came and jabbed at his chest like a syringe and within seconds, he was knocked out.

_"P... Please..._

_stop...."_


	44. Cold Ripples

Tsubasa Otori

When Tsubasa opened his eyes again, he could hear the rippling of water, a gentle drop falling onto a small puddle. Once, then twice, then another time. His head and body heavy, Tsubasa reached his hand towards his head and slowly pulled himself up, his vision still as hazy as his mind. He could not recall what had happened before he fell unconscious, but he felt like he had been struggling, fighting to reach someone, to stop himself from hurting someone that meant a lot to him. But he had yet to figure out who it was. The voice faintly echoed inside his head as Tsubasa came in terms with the darkness around him and below his feet that rippled whenever he took a step forward, but he could not associate it with a name or face. He could not even come up with any sort of name or face of someone besides himself.

Had he always been this lost?

"Looks like... they've wiped your head clean, huh... Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa's eyes dilated in shock. Spinning around, he found himself staring at a body laying on the ground, bound in golden chains, growling in frustration and rage. It was Dark Tsubasa, his dark counterpart who had tormented him senselessly during numerous bey battles. Tsubasa hurried towards him, stumbling a few times as the black floor rippled beneath his feet, but before he even reached his dark counterpart, he saw it. The blurred image of his own fist punching another boy on the face becoming more and more vivid and it set a flame inside his head, and it was followed by the sound of a drop landing on clear water. Tsubasa felt himself fall forward and crash against the ground and as a burning agony seared his head, the memories came flashing and surging into his head like crossfires.

_"Come on, tough guy. I know you're serious, but being too serious just is not your style."_

_"I'll be sure to tell you if any help is necessary."_

_"I look forward to battling the newly-appointed captain, my friend."_

_Klaus, Julian, Dashan..._

One by one, the memories flashed into Tsubasa's head, causing his uncertainty and confusion to fade away more and more as they came. Pulling himself up from the ground, however, Tsubasa felt like he was still missing something- no, someone very dear to him. More than one person, to be exact. Every single one of the friends and allies that had been recalled by his memories were extremely precious to him, but Tsubasa felt like the people that he had yet to remember were the most important to him, far more important than himself, those he wanted so deeply to protect. A sharp pain struck his head like a lightning bolt and he gritted his teeth and clutched it as his dark counterpart sighed.

"Starting to remember?"

"Yeah." Tsubasa nodded, wincing. "But I feel like I'm missing a few important people."

"Who do you remember?"

Deciding to have a proper conversation with his dark side this time, Tsubasa told him the truth. "Julian, Dashan, Klaus, Kenta-"

"You're missing three," Dark Tsubasa interrupted.

"Th-" Tsubasa's words were caught in his throat when a tear suddenly slipped out of his right eye. "Huh?" He felt the warmth that the tear left linger on his cheek as it slid down and fell onto the black surface, causing a large ripple to form on the ground below the two opposite Tsubasas. Wiping at his face, Tsubasa's eyes widened slightly at the sorrowful expression on his usually-heartless counterpart's face.

"Yu," he uttered, almost gently. "Yu Tendo."

The name rang inside Tsubasa's head like the bell of a cathedral and his eyes widened as the more memories began flooding inside his head and warm tears slipped down his cheeks like melted snow. He remembered sitting down at the dining table of his house with three people: a teenage boy and girl about his age and a younger boy. He remembered the wavy azure hair and gentle olive eyes of the girl, her soft giggles and kind heart, how she would often offer him and the others tea to keep them warm.

 _Sophie_ , Tsubasa recalled. She was Sophie, a member of Team Excalibur, a member of Team Aozora, in which Tsubasa was the captain. _But who are the other two. Who is Yu-_

The falling of tears onto the black surface echoed throughout the walls and in his mind, Tsubasa saw the younger boy with orange hair and large green eyes smiling brightly at him, waving happily and calling Tsubasa's name. That was when the reason that Tsubasa was in this darkness came crashing down on him like tidal waves, along with each and every memory that he had shared with the boy. It was his tag-team partner. His adventure buddy. And most of all,

his best friend.

"Yu." Uttering the name only made more tears well up inside Tsubasa's eyes and he quietly mourned the boy. "Yu..."

Tsubasa had staggered into the bathroom that night, just about an hour after they had returned home after the battle that killed Yu. He had cried his heart out, bearing the agony and wounds that he had held back for the sake of keeping himself composed for all the world to finally see, unable to restrain his tortuous grief and anguish any longer. But before he was even done, he felt his body finally give in to its weaknesses and failure to hold itself together, felt himself slamming onto the cold floor, and the darkness took over his mind and vision, not a single cry to be heard from anyone, even himself. A chill running down his spine at the cold memory, Tsubasa wiped his tears away and his mind saw Yu pulling the last mysterious person by the arm, yelling excitedly about ice-cream as the older boy laughed and told him to slow down. Tsubasa's eyes widened in horror as he realized that it was the same boy that his fist had connected with in the reality that he had lost control of. Gritting his teeth, he tried to remember who he was, tried to think of a way to stop himself from hurting the boy, from losing anyone else. As though his attempts were finally being recognized, the last pieces of his memory came piercing through his head like shards of glass, and Tsubasa's eyes dilated in pure terror and he let out a shout of anguish.

"Wales!"

Wales

"Wales! Wales!"

Wales flinched as he clutched his chin tightly, Kenta's screams piercing through his head, the agony thudding on his chin and lips. Warm blood dribbled into his mouth and down his chin and he had not even looked up when he felt a cold hand seize his shoulder and yank him off his wheelchair and down onto the blades of viridescent grass, causing him to groan in pain. He couldn't do a thing. He could not fight, use his bey or defend himself from Tsubasa's attacks until the hooded henchman was done with him. If Wales did anything to defy the henchman's wishes, he would not hesitate to use Lilac Song until Tsubasa stopped breathing and Wales was adamant on making sure that it did not happen. But how much suffering was the henchman - or rather, Hayoto and Jason - demanding for him to suffer? A thousand punches? The constant stabbing of his own friend beating him relentlessly? The repetitive torture until he wound up dead? Wales felt his lips curve into a helpless wince as Tsubasa grabbed him by the collar of his white shirt and dragged him towards the body of water.

"What are you doing?" Kenta's voice was frantic with sheer worry. "Stop it, Tsubasa! Snap out of it already!"

Tsubasa held Wales' body down by crouching down and positioning his foot on Wales' back and forcefully angled the latter's body in such a way that his face was only a mere inch away from making direct contact with the clear pond. Wales' eyes dilated as he stared down at the body of water, unable to do otherwise, unable to calm his racing, agonized heart.

"Down."

At the henchman's monotonous command, Tsubasa grabbed a fistful of Wales' hair and plunged the latter's head into the water.

"No!" Kenta shrieked, but his voice was soon drowned by the water.

His head submerged in the water, he wrenched his head about desperately, struggling to breathe or hear anything that Kenta was saying. He could feel his arms twitching on his sides as he felt his heart palpitate uncontrollably, and Tsubasa only gripped his hair harder and soon, Wales felt a foot slam hard onto his arms and a muffled yell came from his mouth. As he felt his lungs constrict, his head was suddenly yanked out of the water, only for a fist to be sent crashing against his ear. He felt his head land sideways on the grass and as he inhaled and exhaled rapidly, he knew that his body was trembling from the pain, but he did not go against it. He could not go against it. Not if he wanted Tsubasa to remain alive. Not if he wanted his close friend back.

But he could try to speak, right?

"I know you're in there, Tsubasa!" Wales yelled as Tsubasa stomped on his gut, causing him to cry out in pain. "Please stop this, Tsubasa! Please... I know you can fight this! You can do it, Tsu-"

But that only earned him a fist colliding against his mouth and Wales recoiled back, more blood slipping down his face.

"Tsu-"

Another blow was dealt on the exact same spot and Wales yelled out in pain.

"I-"

Yet another blow was made and Wales was reaching for his wounded mouth, only for Tsubasa to grab both of his hands and grip them tightly to the point that it hurt. Before Wales could even recover, Tsubasa stomped on the wound on his left leg and Wales cried out in sheer terror and agony.

"Wales!" Kenta shrieked.

Wales gritted his teeth and clutched his leg the moment Tsubasa let go of his hands, groaning as the wound that had hindered him from walking throbbed excruciatingly. Inside his head, his thoughts were all torn apart like a crow's wings, scattered and blown all over the place, unable to be joined together anymore. He twisted his body around and glared up at the henchman whose expression was concealed by the hood of his cloak, his emotions boiling and surging inside of him like a gush of flames, Kenta's shrieks of agony twisting his heart.

_If this goes on... I'll wind up dead, won't I?_

Memories as fresh as the blood on his chin filled Wales' head like ice-cold water and he saw the faces of those he held dearest to him - Sophie, Yu, Julian, Tsubasa, Klaus, Dashan, Chao Xin, Kenta, everyone - and they were all smiling, and it only made Wales' heart wrench even more.

_If I wind up dead... they'll suffer the same pain all over again._

Wales let out an agonized cry as Tsubasa pressed a foot on the wound on his other leg, the pain lancing through like a sharpened blade, and he could see Sophie sobbing quietly in Wales' arms Yu crying as he gripped Wales' shirt, Julian, Klaus and Dashan trying but failing to hold back their tears, and Tsubasa letting his tears go little by little like the sky that slowly began to rain until it could not hold everything and let go of it completely.

_And I know that if_ _Tsubasa_ _wakes up and realizes what he's done... it would shatter him to bits._

Wales felt tears welling up inside his eyes all over again.

_And I don't want anyone to suffer like that again!_

Tsubasa grabbed Wales by the back of his collar and forced him to lie on his stomach and face the water below, about to plunge his head into the pond again. That was when a thought occurred inside his head like a sudden beacon of light appearing in the dark.

_Water._

Wales eyed Eagle that was still spinning on the grass by the other side of the pond, with Saggitario and Blue Cetus less than a metre away from the lone bey.

_Beys_ _that are not of the water element shouldn't be able to survive a water medium, right?_

If Wales' idea was right, Eagle would stop spinning the moment Blue Cetus knocked it into the water and this would prevent the henchman from using Lilac Song from draining Tsubasa's life away and Kenta would be able to finish the henchman off. However, what if it did not work? Would the henchman immediately use Lilac Song repetitively and leech Tsubasa's life away? Or would the henchman continue to let Wales be tortured by an unconscious Tsubasa? Although it sounded awful without any context, Wales hoped it was the latter; he would rather die than let Tsubasa be killed. Bracing himself, Wales squeezed his eyes shut and spoke.

"Kenta."

"Wales?" Kenta's voice was shaking.

"Kenta, listen to me. If that psycho tries to kill Tsubasa, shoot Sagittario through me."

"Wait..." Kenta's voice was filled with pure confusion along with fear, "what are you saying?"

"He won't kill Tsubasa if he's done with me," Wales explained with a heavy heart, each word sending a bullet through his chest. "So if it comes down to that, kill me, _please_."

"N-No, Wales!" Kenta was yelling, his voice quavering with emotion. "There has to be a way out of this! I won't do it, Wales! I won't do it!"

Wales felt a tear slip down his cheek. "Kenta, please-"

"No!" Kenta was shrieking now, his emotions unrestrained. "I won't... I can't do it!

"But Tsubasa will-"

"I don't want to lose either of you!"

"Do it, Tsubasa," came the henchman's monotonous interruption.

At that very moment, the command was made in Wales' head like a finger pulling the trigger of a gun:

 _Do it now, Blue_ _Cetus_ _!_

In a flash, Blue Cetus collided against Eagle and both of them plunged into the water one after the other.

Now Wales could only pray that his gamble paid off.

Tsubasa Otori

"U-Ugh!"

Tsubasa tried to break the chains that bound Dark Tsubasa, yanking and clawing at the chains in the hopes of setting his dark counterpart free. Now that he had gotten his memories back, he was trying to find a way to go back to the real world, to stop his own body from torturing Wales, his close friend and ally. Gritting his teeth, he could not stop repeating the image of his own fist colliding against the Cetus blader's face, of his own body betraying not only his own friend but himself. Whoever was controlling his from the outside had caused his memories to be erased, his body to be used as a weapon against his own friends, and his inside to be a cage for him. And Tsubasa did not want that. He never wanted that!

He never wanted to be used to hurt anyone!

"Why are you trying to free me?"

Laying on the black floor, Dark Tsubasa looked up at him with a deep frown.

"Haven't I... made you suffer enough, Tsubasa?"

"You have," Tsubasa replied, pulling at the chains as strongly as he could. "For so long. But that last time when I collapsed after saving Yu and using Lilac Song, you let me go back, didn't you? You didn't put up any sort of fight and just let me go back to my friends, accepting what I wanted without making me suffer like you did before."

Tsubasa smiled slightly.

"So I guess I've kind of grown to accept you as a part of me too. I can't remove the darkness, but I can accept it, can't I?"

Dark Tsubasa's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but the roaring of waves suddenly echoed throughout the dark space, causing both Tsubasas' eyes to dilate.

"Is that-"

"Oh shoot."

More and more ripples formed on the black surface and Tsubasa glanced around, extremely disinterested in the idea of both him and his dark counterpart being drowned inside a flood of water. Besides, what in the world was water even doing here? At that moment, a sudden pain struck Tsubasa on the head and within seconds, he saw it. Blue Cetus had pushed Eagle into a pond and fallen along with it, causing the latter bey to struggle to keep spinning due to the liquid medium. Although his head was still reeling from the agony, Tsubasa's lips curved into a faint smile, silently proud of his close friend for figuring out how to defeat Eagle and saving Tsubasa from hurting anyone with his bey.

_You've become a lot smarter, Wales._

Tsubasa felt warmth and pain flow through his heart at the same time.

_Yu would be proud, too._

"What the-"

Dark Tsubasa's swearing snapping Tsubasa out of his thoughts, Tsubasa shook his head and his eyes dilated as a deafening roar reverberated throughout the dark space, and it was not the sound of the ocean. Instinctively reaching for his pocket, he grabbed Eagle and attached it to his launcher, ready to shoot his bey at an incoming enemy.

Except that no one came.

"Oh no, Tsuba-"

But before his dark counterpart could finish, Tsubasa was thrown into the air and slammed against the cold, hard ground, his body throbbing in agony. With Dark Tsubasa yelling for him to get up, Tsubasa clenched his teeth and lifted his face from the ground, only to see a black silhouette of himself tightening the chains around Dark Tsubasa, its red eyes devoid of any emotion. Tsubasa felt warm blood seep through his lips as the silhouette turned to face him, its red eyes looking at him with familiarity. Glaring at it fiercely, Tsubasa pointed his launcher at him, ready to fight against it and save his dark counterpart and Wales.

"Drown in despair," the silhouette uttered, its voice a distorted version of Tsubasa's, pointing a black launcher at Tsubasa.

"Go shoot!" Tsubasa yelled, yanking the string with as much power as he could gather.

Eagle and the silhouette's bey were fired into the air and their collision let out a loud clang, only to trigger an explosion that signalled the beginning of a violent clash.

 _I may be stuck in here with you, but,_ Tsubasa gritted his teeth in anger, _there's no way I'm letting you have your way with Wales or anyone else!_

Wales

"You did it, Wales!"

Wales' eyes widened as Eagle and Blue Cetus emerged out of the pond, with the latter bey propelling the other one up. Eagle had stopped spinning while Blue Cetus' spin had not weakened at all and both beys landed on the grass near Kenta, who flashed Wales a quick smile before swiveling around to turn on their common enemy and yelled,

"Go now, Sagittario!"

At the sound of Kenta's command, Sagittario veiled itself in a cloak of orange and yellow flames before manifesting all the light into a fearsome arrow aimed straight at the hooded henchman.

"Beat him now, Sagittario!" Kenta shrieked.

Wales' heart thudded at the sheer resentment and coldness in the normally-light-hearted boy's brown eyes and loud voice, but he did not say a word as he pushed a suddenly-limp Tsubasa off of him and scooted away from the water. He understood as much as Kenta did.

They had all suffered too much.

However, just as the arrow was about to land a direct hit, it was repelled by the air itself and shot straight towards Kenta, who was frozen on spot.

"Kenta!" Wales shouted.

In an instant, Blue Cetus conjured up a hurricane of wind and water that slammed against the repelled arrow of flames, causing a massive explosion to reverberate in the tumultuous atmosphere. Snapped out of his frozen state, Kenta gasped and sprinted towards Wales, who gritted his teeth as a translucent grey barrier in the shape of a dome appeared around the hooded blader.

"Buzz off already!" Wales shouted, his voice rising with every word as Kenta pushed his wheelchair towards him. "Haven't you done enough? Just drop the tricks and buzz off!"

However, the hooded henchman simply ignored him and swept his hand towards a running Kenta, and that was when Wales saw it. A jet-black bey nearly identical to Jason's Devilry headed straight towards a vulnerable Kenta, whose Flash Sagittatio was too faraway to stop the opposing bey. Wales clenched his teeth and shouted out to his bey, which lunged at the new opponent, but he soon felt a sharp pain lance through his leg. Dread lurking through his heart as he heard the clanging of metal against metal, he gritted his teeth in agony and faced Tsubasa, who was suddenly being controlled by the henchman again. Kenta's yells pierced through his head as Wales tried to scoot away from Tsubasa, only for the silver-haired teen to grab him by the arm and yank him down onto the ground with brute force.

"Wales!"

Wales' eyes snapped open as he instantly recognized the voices calling out to him along with Kenta's. He spun his head around and saw Sophie, Julian and Dashan trying to break into the barrier around the area that Kenta and Wales were trapped in, using one special move after another.

"We'll get you out of there!" Julian shouted, his eyes fierce with determination. "For now, focus on the battle in hand, you hear me, Wales, Kenta?"

Wales swivelled around and grabbed Tsubasa by the arm before the latter landed a direct blow on his face.

"Got it, Julian!" Wales yelled back.

Even though he was preoccupied with fending himself against a controlled Tsubasa, Wales could hear the struggle, yells and cries around him. Sophie, Julian and Dashan were trying to break the henchman's barrier from the outside; Chao Xin, Gingka and many others were beginning to be heard as more punches were thrown and special moves were unleashed; Kenta's screams pierced through his ears like broken glass each time Tsubasa landed direct blows on Wales. Within minutes, Tsubasa had overpowered and pinned Wales against the grass, straddling him so that there was no escape, and was crashing his fist against Wales' face and gut over and over again, not caring how much blood leaked out of his mouth or how red the former's hands became. But with his friends' voices and efforts echoing inside his head, Wales did his best to fight against the pain and fend himself without hurting Tsubasa, refusing to give up, refusing to stop until his close friend had been freed.

"Please hear me out..." Wales clenched his teeth, the pain throbbing uncontrollably on his body, "Tsu-"

Boom!

"No!"

Kenta's shriek made Wales whip his head around and the latter's eyes widened in horror. A jet-black blast of light had burst upwards on the spot where Wales had last seen Julian, Sophie and Dashan, and neither of them could be seen.

"Sophie!" Wales shouted out in anguish, tears welling up behind his eyes as the horrendous possibilities stabbed through his head like knives. "Julian! Dashan!"

When the smoke cleared, however, Wales could see all three of his close friends alive, either on the ground or standing up. But the sight before his eyes only made Wales' heart spin rapidly like leaves in a thunderstorm.

_This can't... be happening..._

Sophie was trembling as she slowly pulled herself up, clutching her arm tightly, while Dashan was a few feet away from her, gritting his teeth in pain, his fists clenched tightly as he forced himself up while leaning against a charred tree trunk for support.However, Julian stood faraway from them, staggering backwards, his lips curved into a painful wince, his hands both clutching his head as his eyes were squeezed tightly. In front of him, Destroyer, which was now cloaked with a black aura, had conjured up its soldier, which was about to bring down its sword and strike Julian on the head.

"Julian!" Wales and Sophie shouted.

Julian's bey had been turned against him...

Wales felt something pierce through the wound on his right leg and yelled out in agony, only to find a knife digging into the wound, its handle held by the one and only Tsubasa Otori.

"Wales!" Sophie, Kenta and Chao Xin could be heard shouting in sheer anguish.

... just like how his close friend had been turned against Wales.

Tsubasa Otori

"Ugh!"

Tsubasa thudded against the black floor as he felt the blast of the special move sear against the skin of his rams, burning it. Wincing, he forced himself to get up and pull himself together before looking up to glare at his opponent, whose red eyes were taunting Tsubasa, an evil smirk visible on its face as it ordered its bey to attack the latter again. Within seconds, Tsubasa was hurled backwards again and thrown against the cold ground, bruises, burns and wounds all over his body. Slowly raising his face from the floor, Tsubasa saw an image strike his head like black lightning and he saw Wales being stabbed by him in real life, a knife piercing its way through one of the two wounds that hindered Wales from walking on his own. The image was repeated and it rippled through his head as his heart sank in cold reality and Eagle's spirit spread its wings out to protect him, protecting what Tsubasa needed to protect, unlike his body in real life that should be protecting Wales but was torturing him.

_W-Wales..._

A warm tear fell onto the cold floor and a soft ripple was formed as Tsubasa gripped his arm and pulled himself up to his feet, his heart quivering at the pain that he was subjecting his own close friend to the longer he struggled.

_Why... must we be suffer like this...?_

As his bey's spirit let out a screech of agony at the black blast shooting straight at it, Tsubasa felt what the purple eagle felt, and clutched his burning chest tightly, trying hard to not cry as the cold tears made more ripples form on the ground.

_Why... does it have to be so hard... to overcome this pain?_


	45. Tsubasa / Wings

Sophie

"Wales! Julian!"

Sophie cried out in agony and in a flash, she was shrouded with a white aura that surged up into the sky and shot itself against the Destroyer's spirit's sword which had been about to crash onto Julian's vulnerable head. As Destroyer's spirit tried to overpower Sophie's burst of aura, Dashan yelled out to his bey and Zurafa sent a blast of orange and yellow light blazing towards Destroyer, triggering an explosion of black, orange and white lights.

"Leave Julian to me and Klaus, Sophie!" Dashan yelled out to Sophie, his olive eyes grave. "Focus on breaking the barrier and saving Wales, Kenta and Tsubasa!"

"Alright," Sophie responded, nodding quickly before spinning around to face the translucent, shatterproof barrier in which Wales was defenseless against a controlled Tsubasa and Kenta was struggling against the hooded henchman's bey. Quietly wishing to end Wales, Tsubasa and Kenta's pain as soon as possible, Sophie cried out to White Cetus and the bey collided against the barrier with a mighty white aura, trying its hardest to shatter the powerful barricade.

"Cetus: Ocean Avalanche!" Sophie shouted with tears slipping down her face.

As she shouted out, Sophie gathered all of her strength and emotions into one place, hoping that they would be enough to save Wales and the others and end this excruciating battle once and for all, hoping that no more damage would be done by the time they had broken through the barrier, that no lives were taken again. But she could feel the fear, agony and desperation surging inside of her like tidal waves as her bey conjured up an avalanche of ice, snow and water, burning fiercely with white and azure light.

_I can't... lose anyone else...!_

"Let's go, Virgo!"

As White Cetus unleashed the avalanche of ice, snow and water and slammed it against the dark barrier, Chao Xin shouted out to his bey and it sent surges of orange and yellow blazing against the dark surface next to Sophie's bey's special move, both beys pushing with all their strength to save Wales, Kenta and Tsubasa. Chao Xin glanced at her and gave her a determined look and Sophie returned it.

"Let's go, Sophie!" Chao Xin yelled.

Sophie nodded fiercely. "Yeah!"

"Push harder, Virgo!"

"Go, White Cetus!"

 _Please..._ Sophie prayed inside her heart as more explosions resounded inside her ears, _let us save them._

Wales

"T-Tsubasa..."

Wales clutched his leg tightly, crumpled on the blood-stained grass that circled the now-unsettled water. Tsubasa had stabbed the knife right through the wound that Hayoto had inflicted on him during the battle in which Yu had died and Wales could feel the warm blood flowing out of the wound, his hands getting wet with the liquid. Wales could not believe it. He had known that Jason, Hayoto and their henchmen were all deranged sickos, but he never expected them to coerce his controlled close friend with an actual weapon that was used to kill people in cold blood. Gritting his teeth, Wales looked up at Tsubasa, who stared at him with closed eyes, the knife curled by his right fingers dripping with crimson blood. He had to find a way to stop this, to end this. He had to somehow wrench the knife out of Tsubasa's grasp before the latter killed him, before the latter could then regain his control and spend the rest of his life wallowing in guilt towards what his body had done while controlled by somebody else. And not only that, but...

Wales did not want his friends to suffer more than they already had because of Yu's death.

Tsubasa swung the knife again and Wales seized his right hand, grasping his friend as tightly as he could.

He had to stop Tsubasa.

"Please let go, Tsubasa!" Wales shouted, trying to force his friend's fingers to let go of the sharp weapon. "If you can hear me in there, you have to get a grip on yourself! Please! I know you have the strength to break free from this!"

Tsubasa tried to wrench himself free from Wales' grip, but the latter grunted and tried even harder.

"I know you! Remember the Beyblade World Championship? You wrenched yourself free from the darkness and emerged victorious against me and Sophie, right?" Wales yelled, gritting his teeth. "I know that my arrogant self did not say it, but I admired you for that. It astounded me. It touched everyone! And throughout all the days I've spent with you, as your friend, I've seen that unwavering strength of yours grow stronger and stronger, brighter and brighter."

Wales could feel one of Tsubasa's fingers lose its hold on the knife and continued to fight against him.

"That's how I know that you can overcome this! You are one of the closest friends I've ever had and I believe in you, Tsubasa! I believe that you can break out of this! You can do it, Tsubasa!"

Wales was about to wrench another one of Tsubasa's fingers off the knife when the latter's grip suddenly strengthened and he forced his hand free from Wales', much to the latter's horror. However, just as Tsubasa was about to swing the knife at Wales again, the latter heard the wind slice the air and Blue Cetus struck the knife from Tsubasa's grip and the compact weapon landed softly on the viridescent grass away from the two boys. Although relieved for a brief moment, Wales' heart immediately raced as he grabbed Tsubasa's arm to prevent him from taking the knife and pulled him to the ground where he could not get up from. Tsubasa fell and Wales tried to hold him down by pushing down the former's shoulders, only for his arm to be grabbed and be pierced by the silver-haired teen's nails. Wales gritted his teeth as Tsubasa regained his momentum and threw a fist at Wales and the latter narrowly shielded himself with his arm. Wales found himself wrestling against Tsubasa on the grass, the former trying to pin him down and land direct blows on him, the latter trying to evade the attacks and protect himself without hurting his friend. Wales let out a yell as he grabbed Tsubasa's hands and tried to maintain his grip against the struggling teen, the sounds of explosions and the clashing of metal against metal ringing in his ears as he heard his friends' yells, shrieks and screams.

_I believe in you... so..._

Wales gritted his teeth and exerted as much strength as he could as he tried to resist Tsubasa's attempts to overpower him.

_I will do whatever I can until you break free, Tsubasa!_

"Let's do this, Tsubasa!" Wales cried out, letting all his anguish, grief, determination and hope gyrate around him all at once. "Together!"

Tsubasa Otori

"Eagle!"

Tsubasa cried out to his bey's spirit as the purple eagle let out another strangled cry and its wings faltered before his eyes. _Not good._ Tsubasa gritted his teeth as tears slid down his face and agony scorched his chest even more like a thousand circles of flames. The enemy was too strong. Too strong for Tsubasa to handle on his own. Too strong for Tsubasa to defeat and pass in order to go and stop himself from hurting Wales any further. Tsubasa stumbled forward towards his bey, towards the purple eagle, not caring if he ended up getting hit by the blast himself. Eagle was not going to hold up for long and Tsubasa could not just let his bey suffer while he could do nothing but watch. That was not him. That was not the Tsubasa that led the team called Team Aozora. That was not the Tsubasa whom Yu had smiled and looked up to, whom the latter, Wales, Sophie, Dashan, Kenta, Julian, Klaus, Gingka and the others all believed in. No. The Tsubasa they knew was not going to stand idly and do nothing.

"U-Ugh..."

Tsubasa slumped forward, but placed a hand on the ground to stop his fall, his body trembling amidst the pain. He forced himself up and continued to step towards Eagle.

"I must..." Tsubasa muttered, "stay strong."

Tsubasa looked straight at Eagle and narrowed his eyes, his teeth clenched tightly.

"Eagle..." Tsubasa uttered, placing a hand gently on Eagle's left wing, "Lilac... Song."

At once, a lilac aura shrouded Tsubasa and his heart was knocked against his chest, like a truck had rammed right into it. Tsubasa let out a painful groan as his body quivered uncontrollably and Eagle let out a battle cry and spread its wings even further, knowing that he was truly testing and pushing his limits, knowing that he was on the verge of crossing his own line. Dropping to his knees, Tsubasa clutched his chest with both hands as Eagle pushed hard against the black blast from the silhouette's bey, uncertain how long he would be able to bear it, how much it would take to end this. Because he knew that he was just moments away from collapsing. One more Lilac Song might even cause his heart to stop beating; that was why Wales and Kenta had tried so hard to prevent the henchman from triggering the special move again. Breathing in and out unsteadily, Tsubasa could only observe as Eagle did its best to protect itself and its owner.

"P-Please... Eagle," Tsubasa uttered, "I can only... rely on... your strength now..."

At that moment, another cry was heard and Tsubasa's eyes widened as the cry grew louder, followed by another.

_What-_

In a flash, another eagle that was a darker shade of lilac compared to Tsubasa's was right next to Eagle's spirit, teaming up with it to protect Tsubasa from the blast. Tsubasa stared in shock and bewilderment.

_How-_

"Can you hear him?"

Tsubasa turned and his eyes widened at Dark Tsubasa, who was on his feet and smiling faintly at him, no longer bounded in chains.

"Can you hear your friend?"

_"I believe in you..."_

Shock seized Tsubasa's throbbing heart at the owner of the faltering voice. _Wales..._

 _"... so..._ _I will do whatever I can until you break free, Tsubasa!_ "

More tears slipped down Tsubasa's face as the pain eased a little, as the sincerity in Wales' voice tugged at his quivering heart.

_"Let's do this,_ _Tsubasa_ _!"_

"Those three... The three who matter to you the most. They were the only ones among that lot who've managed to move my heart, even when it seems like I don't even have one."

A hand was extended to Tsubasa and he stared up at Dark Tsubasa, who gave him a sincere smile.

"So you go on ahead while I distract this lowlife, Tsubasa. After all," Dark Tsubasa's lips curved into a sincere smile, "we're saving them together this time, right?"

Tsubasa's eyes were widened in shock, but he soon felt his expression soften and he took his dark counterpart's hand with a small smile. "Yeah. Thanks, Dark Side."

Dark Tsubasa pulled him up and shouted out, "Eagle! Metal Wing Smash!"

Dark Tsubasa's Eagle slammed against the blast with a dark lilac burst of strength and as an explosion roared inside Tsubasa's ears, the latter's Eagle's lilac spirit emerged from the dust and smoke with a scintillating aura and determined cry. The spirit dove down in Tsubasa's direction and the latter quickly climbed onto his back and soared up into the endless darkness at maximum speed, going further and further away from the battlefield left to Dark Tsubasa's hands.

Doing his best to hang onto Eagle, Tsubasa turned to look down at the ground below him and caught Dark Tsubasa's eyes staring up at him. Dark Tsubasa smiled lightly and nodded. Smiling faintly, Tsubasa nodded before turning away to face the endless black sky.

_Thank you, Dark Side._

They soared.

Kenta Yumiya

"Kenta! Wales! Use your special moves from the inside!"

Kenta swivelled around to face Yuki, who was with Gingka, Chris and Madoka.

"We're all breaking this barrier and you guys out of there together! Take care of the henchman's bey for as long as you can while you're in there!" Yuki yelled, his brown eyes ignited by determination behind his glasses. "We know you can do this, guys!"

"But-" Kenta turned to Wales, who was struggling against Tsubasa "- Wales is-"

"Don't worry about me, Kenta!"

Gritting his teeth, Wales lifted his head up and looked Kenta in the eye.

"I'll tell Blue Cetus to keep using its special moves until the barrier breaks," Wales explained between grunts, grappling against Tsubasa's arms. "If anything happens, I trust you to look after Blue Cetus for me!"

Kenta's eyes widened. "Wales-" But Tsubasa swung a fist at Wales and the latter narrowly managed to whip his head to the right to evade the attack and Kenta knew that the choice had been made for him. "Okay, you can trust me on this, Wales."

Kenta then turned to glare at the henchman and cried out.

"Sagittario: Diving Arrow!"

Countless arrows veiled by orange and yellow flames flashed across the air and zoomed straight towards the lone black bey spinning in front of the hooded henchman. Kenta cried out even louder to his bey and the flames grew larger and slammed against the black bey as Blue Cetus began to conjure up a colossal hurricane of water and wind. He had been too late when Wales' team were forced to face Jason and Hayoto in the throne room on their own, but this time, Kenta was here. And Kenta was sure not going to let anyone suffer the same way they did last time. Kenta deeply promised himself that he would use all the strength that he had to protect all of his friends. To be there for Wales, Tsubasa, Yuki, Gingka, Sophie, Chris, Madoka, everyone!

"Please hang in there, Wales..." Kenta mumbled, clenching his teeth as he forced himself to focus on the bey battle in hand despite his urges to face a struggling Wales' fight against a controlled Tsubasa.

Blue Cetus landed a direct hit on the black bey and Kenta clenched his teeth, hoping that they managed to weaken it at least a little bit.

"If anyone can save Tsubasa now..."

Kenta felt a rush of hope surge inside his aching heart.

"It's you, Wales!"

Dashan Wang

"Call of the Storm: First!"

"Zurafa: Storm Surge!"

Klaus and Dashan shouted out to their beys at the same time and both beys attacked Destroyer with their special moves fiercely, triggering a massive explosion of orange, red and black light. Dashan clenched his fists even tighter as he heard Julian cry out in agony, his heart twinging in agony for his friend.

_It'll be over soon, Julian. I promise._

Dashan narrowed his eyes in pain.

_You have a strong heart, Julian. I know that you can surpass this darkness. I know you!_

After the wafts of thick dust and smoke cleared, Dashan clenched his teeth at Destroyer's soldier, who was raising a long, thin sword and aiming an attack straight at the former and Klaus.

"Look out, Klaus!"

As Destroyer's soldier swung the sword down towards them, Dashan and Klaus leaped out of the way and the former could hear the sword crash down onto the barrier with a mighty boom, indigo and black lights shooting up into the sky. However, when the smoke faded away, Dashan's eyes widened.

There was a crack etching the invisible barrier.

"Oh! Now I get it!"

Madoka's exclamation rang inside Dashan's ears as the latter swiftly commanded Zurafa to do a pincer attack on Destroyer along with Klaus' Capricorn.

"In order to break the barrier, we need to make sure that the dark energy lands direct hits on it. None of our attacks will do any damage on it as it is a special barrier that deflects all kinds of attacks other than those that have the same source of power as itself."

"Darkness..." Chao Xin uttered through clenched teeth.

"Leave it to me and Klaus," Dashan spoke up, looking around at everyone. "We will save Julian and make sure that the barrier shatters. In the meantime, please cover for us by fighting off the remaining bladers."

"Got it!" Chao Xin, Chi-yun, Mei-Mei and Gingka yelled.

"Yeah!" Chris, Yuki and Sophie agreed.

Dashan faced the barrier and looked straight at Kenta.

"Kenta, make sure that Blue Cetus and Sagittario direct the henchman's bey towards attacking the barrier. We need to hurry before anything else happens to Julian, Wales and Kenta, you hear me? I believe in you, my friend!"

Kenta's brown eyes widened, but his expression soon changed into one burning with determination. "We got this, Dashan!"

Dashan gave him a quick smile before shifting his attention back to Julian. "Come at me, Destroyer!"

Destroyer's soldier swung the sword again and Dashan jumped to his right, causing the large weapon to slam against the barrier again, sparks of black and indigo flying in the air. Clangs of metal against metal reverberated inside the air as Klaus yelled out to Grand Capricorn, which intentionally struck Destroyer to provoke the latter's spirit and did. Dashan remembered how he had been there when Team Aozora were in the midst of choosing their leader, how they had not even picked a name for themselves yet. He remembered how Wales' words had been filled with self-loathe and anguish, how hard he had been on himself, how he had silently carried the burden of his past on his own for years, even then. Dashan also remembered how protective he had become of the Cetus blader and his team and realized how much they all meant to him. Julian had trusted Dashan with having their backs and the latter had wholeheartedly accepted it. Dashan cared about all of them and was completely adamant on making sure that everyone made it out of this battle alive. Dashan felt a rush of strength encircle his heart and concentrated on it as a yellow aura illuminated Zurafa. Glancing to his left, Dashan saw Klaus already looking at him, a crimson aura radiating around the latter.

_You entrusted me with them..._

Dashan and Klaus shouted out to their beys and their auras - yellow and red, respectively - were fired straight at Destroyer, which shot a blast of black aura to counter against their attacks.

_Now entrust us with saving you!_

The yellow and red auras swirled around the black aura, constricting it like vines, and they were now a twister of red, yellow and black.

They got it.

"Do it now!" both boys cried out, and the twister was shot straight at the barrier.

_And now..._

Dashan gritted his teeth, unable to see through the smoke and dust from the explosion.

_The rest is up to you, Wales, my friend! Just hold him off for a little longer! We're almost there!_

Wales

"A- Ugh...!"

Wales was literally wrestling against Tsubasa, pinned against the ground with his hands trying to push against the latter's arms, which were exerting more and more strength the more Wales struggled to defend himself. Wales was already weakened by the earlier blows and Tsubasa's stamina did not seem to be waning thanks to the sicko standing a few meters away from him. Wales knew how to attack. He knew how to raise his feet and slam them against the opponents' guts and jaws if the situation called for it. He knew how to swiftly dodge his opponents' blows and use the interval between that and the next blow to land a direct hit on their chins. But the person he was protecting himself against was not just any opponent. It was Tsubasa. His leader and teammate. His ally. One of the closest friends he ever had. Someone whom Wales refused to hurt, even in a circumstance like this. Wales would rather be tortured himself rather than lay a finger on Tsubasa. Tsubasa had always been there for him. He consoled Wales, reassured him, laughed and smiled with him, despite how they had formerly hardly got along and how arrogant Wales had been to him during the Beyblade World Championship. And Wales wanted to be there for him too, no matter what.

_I look up to you a lot... Tsubasa._

Gritting his teeth, Wales readjusted his body and slowly forced himself, pushing as hard as he could.

_You are kind, strong, powerful, brave and confident, all without a single word of arrogance, cruelty or mockery. You flew with wings spread open like an eagle, and consoled all of us by wrapping your wings around us and keeping us warm, even if it meant being tormented by the cold. You're incredibly selfless, and I will always be grateful to you, for everything._

Wales looked straight at Tsubasa fiercely, his eyes meeting the latter's closed ones.

_I know that your wings have been stolen away from you. That they were ripped apart after the battle in which Yu died and torn away from you when that sicko took control of you and your bey. But that does not mean that you can no longer fly, Tsubasa. You will always have wings. You can always regrow your wings. It hurts, but they will come back, I promise. For now, since your wings are being used against us, I will soar for the both of us. Everyone here... Sophie, Julian, Dashan, Klaus, Kenta, everyone..._

Wales cried out in determination and agony.

_We are soaring for you, Tsubasa!_

Tsubasa wrenched his arms away and in a flash, he seized Wales' neck, his fingers curling around it tightly, and Wales let out a choked gasp. Wales attempted to push Tsubasa off of him, but the latter was too strong and he was beginning to suffocate, sweat running down his back. Wales kept pushing and pushing, but Tsubasa only tightened his stranglehold, choking more and more air out of Wales.

_I can't let you... do this...!_

But deep down inside of him, Wales knew.

Wales knew that he could not win. That Tsubasa was simply much stronger physically. That Wales was too weak. Struggling to breathe, Wales felt warm tears run down his face, his life slowly being leeched out of him by the hands of his best friend, and although he could have just waited for it all to end, Wales reached out and grabbed ahold of his close friend's arm.

"T-Tsubasa..."

Wales choked out, his voice quivering, coughing uncontrollably.

"If a-any-one... tells you... what happened... i-if you.... find out..."

Wales did his best to smile despite the excruciating pain.

"I-It's... okay... T-This... i-isn't on... y-you... I-It's alright... okay?"

Tears slipped down Wales' face like warm rivulets as he held Tsubasa a little tighter.

"Just... soar... f-for both... Y-Yu... and me and everyone... alright?"

Tsubasa Otori

Tsubasa and Eagle were soaring amidst the darkness, desperately trying to find a crack of light amidst the pitch blackness. Tsubasa's head was throbbing with images of what was taking place in real life and he was on the verge of tears. His body had overpowered Wales and was now choking the life out of the Cetus blader, who was beginning to cry. Tsubasa felt deep sorrow and anguish pierce his heart as he pleaded for Eagle to save Wales, to find a way out of this darkness and stop all this madness from becoming another tragedy. He could not lose Wales! Not another close friend! Not after he'd just lost his best friend Yu!

_"I-It's... okay..."_

"No..." Tsubasa whispered through gritted teeth.

_"T-This... i-isn't on... y-you..."_

"How is it not?" Tsubasa half-asked-half-uttered, tears slipping down his face. "That's just you being too kind... Wales..."

_"I-It's alright... okay?"_

"No, Wales, it's not!" Tsubasa shouted, his voice cracking. "How is it okay if you're losing your life because I failed you, Wales? I don't want to lose you! I don't want to lose both you and Yu!"

In a blur of the moment, a black blast appeared out of nowhere and blazed against Tsubasa and Eagle, which let out an ear-splitting screech. _No-_ Before Tsubasa could even inhale, he found himself falling into the blackness down the air, with Eagle shooting down past him like lightning, scorched by the sudden ambush's flames. Dark Tsubasa had done everything he could to try and stall the silhouette and his bey, but it appeared that the time was up. Tsubasa felt tears leak from his eyes as he descended down the endless darkness, the rush of air doing nothing to soothe his agonized heart. But how could this be the end? What about Wales? And Julian and Kenta and everyone who was fighting in reality? How could he just let it end like this? How could it end like this?

This was not the end! Tsubasa refused to believe it was! It could not be the end! Not when Wales was being suffocated to death. Not when he had not regained control over his own body. Not when everyone was fighting so hard for his sake.

_I need to soar!_

At that moment, an image flashed inside Tsubasa's head like a beacon of light and his eyes widened. He was laying motionlessly on the hospital bed, with his friends by the bed, looking at him wordlessly. Wales undid the black choker that he normally wore around his neck, smiling through his tears, and placed it on Tsubasa's left hand. Wales then proceeded to quietly curl Tsubasa's fingers around the choker and held it, the former's hand shrouded with warmth. Warm tears fell from Tsubasa's eyes as he instinctively reached into his pocket and found the black choker. He took it out and held it close to his chest, praying, wishing and hoping all at once. Almost immediately, he saw a few lilac feathers fall inside his head and a faint smile graced his lips.

_Yeah. I will keep soaring for you._

When Tsubasa's eyes opened again, he was on top of Eagle again and they soared straight towards the white light ahead, not stopping no matter how scorched and burned the latter's wings were.

"Just wait a little more, please..."

Tsubasa clutched his chest tightly, tears dripping down his face.

"Wales!"

Wales

Just as he thought that he was about to meet his end, out of a sudden, Wales felt Tsubasa's hands freeze. Wales' eyes widened, uncertain if he was imagining things or if this was real, but slowly, Tsubasa's hands loosened around his neck and Wales pulled himself up and felt his close friend's body slump against his, the latter gasping for air, inhaling and exhaling rapidly.

"W-Wales..."

Wales' eyes widened as he felt Tsubasa pull away from him slightly. Wales faced him and Tsubasa was already looking at him, his golden eyes barely open, his lips curved into a faint, broken smile, his hand weakly holding onto the former's shoulder.

"I-I'll... keep... soaring..." Tsubasa's voice grew fainter with each syllable, "... Wales..."

Wales gasped as Tsubasa's eyes fell shut and his head dropped against his chest. "Tsubasa?" Wales took ahold of Tsubasa on the shoulders and tried to shake him awake, tears slipping his eyes as a lone tear fell from the silver-haired teen's now-closed left eye. "Tsubasa! Tsubasa!"

The sound of thunderous shattering filled his ears, but Wales did not care and kept his eyes on Tsubasa, his heart pounding in fear and desperation.

"Get up, Tsubasa! Get up!"

"We got you now, you psycho!"

Wales placed a hand on Tsubasa's chest, trembling uncontrollably with choked sobs as he turned to where Chao Xin's voice came from. Klaus was carrying an unconscious Julian over his right shoulder while staring at the scene before his very eyes fiercely along with Madoka. Kenta, Chao Xin, Gingka, Chris, Mei-Mei and Chi-yun were pointing their launchers with their beys attached to them at the hooded henchman, whose bey had stopped spinning. Wales could hear footsteps amplifying with each passing second and saw Dashan and Sophie sprinting towards him, worry and anguish vivid on their faces, and his fingers could feel a faint but genuine pulse coming from Tsubasa's heart.

"Madoka has contacted Mr Hagane," Dashan told him as Sophie crouched down next to Wales. "The WBBA is on their way with medical help and will be arriving shortly, so you and Tsubasa will be alright, my friend."

"Thanks... Dashan," Wales said with a slight smile. He turned to Sophie and gave her a light smile. "Thank goodness... you're all okay."

Sophie let out a quiet laugh, but tears were running down her face. "That's what we're supposed to be telling you and Tsubasa, Wales..."

Wales gave her a pained smile and pulled her into a tight hug. "Then I'll correct myself." Wales gently caressed her wavy blue hair, the action somehow soothing his own heart although it was intended to ease hers. "Thank goodness we're all okay."

Dashan nodded with a light chuckle. "I could not have said it better, my friend."

Wales smiled up at Dashan and the latter placed a hand on his shoulder.

"So let's see how this ugly crook looks like."

Sophie gently pulled away from Wales as the two of them and Dashan faced the scene unfolding before their eyes. Chao Xin stepped towards the cornered hooded henchman and roughly yanked the hood off of him with gritted teeth, his chestnut eyes smouldering in utter disgust and rage. However, the moment the hood was lifted, Dashan relinquished a gasp. Puzzled, Wales faced him and inquired about his reaction.

"What is it, Dashan?"

"That boy, Wales..." Dashan began, his voice wavering. "I know him. Julian has shown me his profile once."

The henchman, although surrounded by Gingka and the others, turned to Wales' direction and looked straight at him. He had unkempt honey blond hair, arms that were quite muscular, and a slim figure. He looked slightly older than Wales and his eyes were a shade of emerald, a colour that was extremely familiar to Wales, and they were now gazing straight at him with sheer disregard to the fact that he had been defeated and exposed. His lips curled into a sickening, amused smile that his green eyes held as a realization struck Wales' head like an iron hammer and a gasp slipped through his lips.

_That can't be-_

"That is Izaya Tendo," Dashan said, his voice quiet as his green eyes narrowed gravely. "Our dear friend Yu's estranged older brother."


	46. Tendo

Dashan Wang

Bang!

Mr Hagane's fist was slammed against the grey table of the interrogation room. Dashan, Klaus, Yuki, Chao Xin, Chris and Kenta quietly observed as Izaya Tendo merely stared back at the enraged director's face with a smug smirk, although Dashan could feel the Capricorn blader seething with rage beside him. Julian and Tsubasa had been rushed to the hospital hours ago. Everyone was no longer at the hospital as it was past visiting hours. While the doctor had said that Julian's condition was stable and that the latter should wake up in a few days' time, he showed uncertainty regarding Tsubasa. Tsubasa was still alive, but he was at a critical condition, which worsened due to the usage of his special move, Lilac Song, and there was no way to predict when the latter would wake up. Dashan glanced at Klaus, whose eyes blazed with fury. Wales and Sophie had gone back to Tsubasa's house. After being checked up by the doctor and staying by Julian and Tsubasa's sides until the visiting hours ended, Wales had said that he was going home, that he needed some time alone.

 _I... just need to clear my head for awhile_ , Wales had confessed, giving them a broken smile as Sophie gently pushed his wheelchair. He had lowered his eyes, placing a hand on his neck from which a controlled Tsubasa had nearly choked the life out of him. _Just... keep me updated on the interrogation, alright? I don't think I can take being there right now._

_Take all the time you need, Wales, my friend._

Dashan maintained a calm expression despite the agony overshadowing his heart.

_You deserve it more than anything._

"Do you have any idea that you are in the organization that murdered your own brother in cold blood?" Mr Hagane was shouting at the top of his voice. "That Jason and his son Hayoto attempted to kill Wales, only for your brother to take the blow for his best friend's sake? And even after their defeat, they are still going after your brother's friends?"

"If we're allowed in there," Dashan heard Chris say in a cold mutter, "don't hold me back if I shove a fist at that brat's face."

"As long as you don't stop me either," Chao Xin responded, his normally-nonchalant voice edged with restrained anger, "we're good."

Chris let out a cold laugh. "Deal."

"No one's punching anyone," Dashan said without looking at either of the boys.

"As much as I wanna come at that kid as well," Klaus remarked, his arms folded, "Dashan's right. Violence is only going to make the director's situation even more complicated. Whether we like it or not, that criminal has rights too."

"Ugh..." Chao Xin groaned. "So he can pretty much h-"

"Of course I know."

Dashan's eyes snapped back to the interrogation room where Izaya leaned back against his seat with a cold smile, his voice devoid of any sign of remorse.

"I'm one of the highest ranking commanders, just below Hayoto and Jason," Izaya spoke in a relaxed manner, as though his words would not get him sentenced even more than he already had been. "How do you think I was granted that much power to the point that I could take control of that comatose loser and create a barrier with so much of the lower-ranks' dark energy fused together?" Tilting his head to one side, Izaya scoffed as Chao Xin cursed. "I've been in the organization ever since it was just in the initiation stage, so yeah, I knew all their plans. All of them, including what they wanted to do with that one-eyed kid and his friends, including my sorry-excuse-of-a-brother."

Dashan could feel himself and the other boys standing with him combusting with sheer rage and resentment.

"Oh, and speaking of the latter..."

Izaya's lips curled into a deranged smile as he turned to face the glass from which Dashan and the others were watching what was happening, as though the former knew that they were there. He leaned as far as the handcuff that chained his wrist to the grey desk allowed him to and smirked.

"I'm _**ecstatic**_ that that kid lost his life in that battle."

"Why you little-"

"Chao Xin!"

"Chris!"

Yuki, Kenta and Klaus grabbed ahold of Chris while Dashan seized Chao Xin's arms and pulled him back, the latter pushing and struggling against him.

"Let me at him, Dashan!" Chao Xin shouted, his voice boiling with rage and agony as he shot Dashan an icy glare. "Let me show that brat a glimpse of what real pain is like! He deserves even worse than prison time. He deserves death after what he did to Yu and everyone else!"

"Do not lose yourself to your anger, Chao Xin!" Dashan warned as Izaya began to laugh evilly in the interrogation room, as though the latter knew the chaos that he had caused.

"You think it's that easy?" Chao Xin demanded. "You think it's easy to be calm like you? I'm not exactly patient, but I'm not usually temperamental either. But that night... that night when I could not go into that castle because of some quota nonsense... when I could only watch as Yu died in Wales' arms, I... I just snapped. I hate this, Dashan. I hate being like this. I just want all of it to stop... To end. But no, it's not ending. Not even close. Not when nutcases like that sorry-excuse-of-a-human-being exist. Not when they won't stop messing around like this."

Chao Xin stopped struggling and hung his head, his teeth gritted as tears stung inside his eyes.

"Why... why can't they just freaking stop? Haven't they done... enough?"

Chao Xin let out a tortured sob and Dashan slowly pulled him into a hug, rubbing the Virgo blader on the back. He could feel the younger boy tremble violently in his arms as Chris broke down and the others consoled the latter, telling him that it was okay with tears in Yuki and Kenta's eyes. Dashan understood. Chao Xin used to be this laid-back, indifferent, and lazy, to put it bluntly, playboy who did not grasp the meaning of hard work and effort, but the boy crying in his arms now was not the same Chao Xin. This Chao Xin was loyal, brave, kind-hearted and selfless to the point that he'd go over the edge for those whom he cared about. That was why Chao Xin wanted to barge into the room and assault Izaya. Because of the accumulated, pent-up emotions that he had kept locked up within him from watching Yu, Wales, Tsubasa, Sophie, Kenta and everyone else suffer because of Jason, Izaya, Hayoto and the rest of their organization. Looking through the glass, Dashan narrowed his eyes as Izaya laughed about Yu's death, the former not caring how furious the WBBA director was.

This had to be put to an end.

Wales

_"I'll... keep... soaring... Wales..."_

Wales felt his heart throb painfully as Tsubasa's faint, wavering voice echoed inside his aching head, the latter's pained smile flashing like a distant memory even though it was given to him just hours ago. Looking down at the open pages of his notebook, Wales quietly read the dedication that he had written for his late close friend, Yu Tendo.

_"You soared, shone and fought with everything, with your heart, soul, mind and spirit, all while touching everyone's hearts, including my dark, cold one..."_

Wales smiled weakly, his finger trailing over the words that he had written in blue ink.

_Today... we just found out that you had an older brother, Yu._

Wales lowered his eyes, recalling the appearance of Izaya Tendo, who had looked straight at him with a sickening smile and eyes that were the exact same colour as Yu's.

 _You never mentioned anything about your past and I never really thought about it up until now_ , Wales spoke in his mind, his heart pulsating with deep sorrow. _Not about where you came from, your grandfather Roger or even your parents. And we didn't even know that you had a sibling. But to have a sibling like that, someone who had the heart to be so cruel and ruthless..._

Wales laid back against the pillow plopped up on his bed, staring up at the white ceiling.

_I... was not the only one hiding my past, wasn't I, Yu?_

Wales wasn't mad. He was not upset, angry or disappointed that Yu chose to not tell him anything about his family. It was his choice. All that Wales felt was deep anguish and sorrow for the now-deceased boy. Was that why Yu initially travelled by himself? Tsubasa had once mentioned that Yu had been travelling on his own from the age of 7 before joining the Dark Nebula organization which he had had no clue was actually evil. Was that why he never mentioned his family? Because mentioning his family - or maybe just his sicko-for-an-older-brother - brought him indescribable pain? Wales knew how it'd felt; his family practically left him to his own devices without caring about him much regarding anything other than academics and awards years after his eye had been damaged, not to mention the fights that had ensued right after Jason stabbed him during his attempt to take Julian's life. However, he could not imagine how hard it could have been for Yu, who had been on his own ever since he was just a little boy, when he was the age of a preschooler. Yu, who had always been so kind, innocent and bright.

 _Is this what you wanted to talk to us about when you came..._ Wales mentally asked, _Mr Tendo?_

"You're thinking of Yu, aren't you, Wales?"

Wales nodded with a faint smile as he looked up at Sophie, who took a seat on the bed beside him. "Yeah. Am I that readable?"

"I don't know," Sophie answered with a soft laugh. "I guess I just know because I've known you for a long time."

Wales let out a laugh that he had not laughed for what felt like ages. "Fair enough."

Wales gently wrapped an arm around Sophie's back and they laid there, sharing a pillow, next to each other, staring at the wall, revelling in each other's warmth and silence.

"I want... things that I can't have."

Wales uttered the words, smiling weakly.

"I want Yu to be alive again. I want Tsubasa and Julian to wake up now. I want all this pain, this sorrow, this grief, to end. I want to go back in time to change things so that it wouldn't be like this, where everyone is still reeling and sheds tears because of that battle and everything that ensued afterwards. I want to go back and tell Yu that even if his family brought him pain, he will always have us, because we are his family, by bond even though not by blood. But I guess it's a sign of sanity that I know... that none of that is going to happen, no matter how much I wish for it."

Wales took a deep breath and let it out into the silent night.

"But right now... I'll let myself try and focus on what I do want and do have."

Slowly turning his body to the side, Wales faced Sophie and gave her a sincere smile.

"It's been awhile... since we've been alone and this close."

Sophie's olive eyes widened in surprise as Wales cupped her face with her right hand and smiled gently through his tears.

"Can I please just... hold you... like this?"

"Oh, Wales..."

Sophie leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on Wales' lips, causing his eyes to widen. She smiled warmly at him, despite the tears peeking out of the corners of her olive eyes.

"You didn't have to ask. Of course you can."

Wales smiled softly at her, tears slipping down his cheeks. "Thank you, Sophie." With that, he slowly closed the gap and gently pressed his lips onto hers. They needed this. Wales knew that he was not the only one suffering, that Sophie was too, and that more than anything, amidst all their pain and suffering, they needed each other to hold onto. Revelling in Sophie's genuine warmth, Wales felt her arms wound themselves around his neck and gently tilted her chin up to deepen the kiss, his heart pulsating loudly in his chest. This warmth was what he had missed so much. This warmth reminded him that despite all the agony and sorrow, he was not alone. That deep inside of him, she was with him, in his heart, always. That no matter how much he was hurting, Sophie would always be there for him, to hold him and tell him that everything would be alright.

Wales felt Sophie tug at his T-shirt and they pulled away from each other, breathing in and out rapidly, looking into each other's eyes.

"I... It's been a long time..." Sophie breathed out with a smile, her cheeks flushed, "since we kissed... hasn't it?"

"Yeah." Wales nodded, inhaling and exhaling as he smiled back at her. "It has. But really..."

Wales intertwined his fingers with hers.

"I honestly needed that, Sophie. More than you can imagine."

He looked into Sophie's kind green eyes and gently thumbed the tears on her cheeks away.

"So with all my heart... thank you, Sophie."

...

That night, even after Sophie and Klaus had fallen asleep, Wales remained awake, sitting on his bed, his blue notebook in his hands. He knew that he should be sleeping after an exhausting day and after narrowly escaping death again, but he could not. Too many thoughts were shooting through his head like bright meteors and comets, too bright to allow his eyes to fall into the blackness of sleep. He thought of all of his friends:

Gingka, Mei-Mei, Chi-yun, Madoka, Yuki, Kyoya and everyone else with whom he had fought together with in this seemingly-endless battle and were not giving up regardless what happened;

Kenta, who had deeply mourned and grieved over Yu's death, blaming himself for not being strong enough;

Chao Xin and Chris, both whom he heard had lost their tempers and broken down outside of the interrogation room, the agony too much for them to restrain any longer;

Dashan, who had become one of his closest friends and extremely protective of everyone in Team Aozora despite not even being a member of the team;

Klaus, who had always given everything that he got to fight alongside him and the others, even if it meant pushing his limits over the edge;

Julian, who had always looked out for him and encouraged him to live on not only for his friends, but for himself;

Tsubasa, who had assured him that he was not a burden and taught him how to soar like an eagle in the blue sky and spread his wings to protect those closest to him;

Sophie, who loved him for who he was, both in the past and the present, and would love him for who he was in the future, and had always let him cry as much as he needed to;

And of course, Yu, whose radiance had become a beacon of light that would guide him up until the very end, no matter how dark reality may seem.

Closing his notebook, Wales mulled an idea over and made his decision. In a few days' time, he was going to go to Yu's old home and talk to Roger Tendo. Wales was going to speak to him about what the elder had wanted to talk to him about the other day not only for his own sake, but for everyone else's. For everyone who loved and cared about Yu. For Sophie, Julian, Klaus, Dashan, Chao Xin, Mei-Mei, Chi-yun, Kenta, Yuki, Gingka, Kyoya, Tithi and everyone. And most definitely, for the person who treasured Yu above everyone else...

For Tsubasa, whom Wales wanted to see wide awake and smiling when it was all over.

_I promised you, didn't I, Tsubasa? That I'll soar for the both of us._

Wales placed a hand on his neck where his black choker used to be and smiled faintly.

_I'll go see Mr Tendo and tell you all about it once you wake up, nakama._


	47. Yu Part 2

Wales

The house was not a simple house. In fact, it was a towering mansion. The mansion's walls were all painted a pristine white and the roofs were the glistening colours of emeralds and rubies. Right outside the mansion was a vast garden with a myriad of trees and bushes with a thousand kind of flowers ranging from red roses to blue clematis to yellow daffodils to lilac lavenders. Wales could not stop himself from staring as he got off the car with Sophie's help, not expecting this to be the Tendos' residence. But then again, Yu had not only neglected to mention where he came from, besides the obvious fact that he was from Japan; he had also always been a modest boy. 

"This is quite a surprise, isn't it, my friend?"

Now comfortably seated on his wheelchair, Wales looked up at Dashan, who gave him a faint smile.

"Yu has always been full of surprises."

Wales, Sophie and Chi-yun smiled back while Klaus, Chao Xin and Mei-Mei laughed. When Team Wang Hu Zhong came to Tsubasa's house for breakfast a few days ago, Wales had told them, Sophie and Klaus about going to see Roger Tendo. All of them had opted to go with him immediately. 

_We're all going with you!_ Chao Xin had declared, slinging an arm around Wales.

 _I agree!_ Mei-Mei had chimed in as Sophie, Chi-yun and Klaus nodded with smiles on their faces.

 _Let's inform Mr Tendo after we have our breakfast_ , Dashan had suggested. 

_Yeah!_ everyone had agreed.

The thought of inviting Kenta and the others had crossed their mind, but they knew that Roger Tendo was a rather seclusive man who would rather have a smaller audience, so they decided that it would only be the seven of them, which was already pushing the boundaries of a "small audience." Wales reached his hand up the wall next to the towering black gates and tapped the doorbell button, his heart stumbling in its pulse a little bit. This was it. Today he was going to have a proper talk with Roger Tendo, Yu's grandfather. Today he was going to learn more about Yu and his family, even if it included that lunatic Izaya. He felt a warm hand place itself on top of his and smiled up at Sophie, who smiled gently at him.

He wanted to know more, but he still had to be careful.

Especially after what Klaus, Sophie and Julian had told him days ago.

 _Roger Tendo may have been affected by Hayoto or Jason's dark energy_ , Julian had said with grave blue eyes, _whether he knows it or not. So if you converse with him again, be alert and definitely, have at least one of us with you._

 _We got it_ , Wales thought as the gates opened and Mr Tendo was seen through the open doors, beaming at them, _Julian._

...

"Here is some rose tea, brewed from the roses in the garden."

"Thank you, Mr Tendo."

Mr Tendo smiled back, his green eyes glistening under the fluorescent lamps as he began to sip his tea. Everyone sat in the living room, with Mr Tendo on his own armchair, Wales on his wheelchair, Sophie, Mei-Mei and Chi-yun on the white sofa, and Dashan, Klaus and Chao Xin on the red sofa. Wales inhaled in the sweet, strong fragrance of the tea, the aroma soothing his heart instantly, and looked around the room. Roger Tendo was an artist. A myriad of canvas were either hung or plopped up against the pale azure walls or laid down on the mahogany tables. The white areas had all been painted in numerous different colours to create breathtaking sceneries, like a bright dawn, a twilight filled with glittering stars, an ocean of flowers and stars, and a garden of daylight and nightfall, and portraits of animals and human beings. Wales examined a painting of Yu, who was smiling brightly and glowing with an illuminating yellow aura with a clear azure sky and vast greenery in the background, his hands spread to the sides. 

A sad smile flitted across Wales' lips.

_I miss seeing you like that, Yu._

"So Ryo's told me that Izaya is in the WBBA's custody."

In his peripheral vision, Wales did not miss the flash of anger in Chao Xin and Dashan's eyes at Mr Tendo'a mention of Yu's older brother, whom he was told had laughed about the latter's death. 

"There is a reason that he's no longer regarded as a part of this family."

Mr Tendo looked down, his emerald eyes filled with sheer grief.

"That boy..." his voice quavered with raw emotion, "made Yu's life a living nightmare."

Wales' heart clenched as he quietly listened to Mr Tendo, refusing to miss out on even a single word. _A living..._ **nightmare** _?_

"Yu is a lot more like you than you think, Wales."

Mr Tendo looked Wales in the eye, offering a faint smile.

"He's talked to me before about you refusing to talk about your past in order to protect him and everyone else from getting caught up into it and consequently, getting hurt. That is precisely what Yu's been doing for the last 6 years, ever since before he started travelling on his own and eventually, meeting Tsubasa, you and everyone else. He never mentions his family because it'd break your hearts knowing the pain they've caused him."

"They?"

Chao Xin repeated, his voice filled with incredulousness.

"You mean it's not just his older brother, sir?"

Wales was quite impressed that Chao Xin still politely referred to Izaya as "his older brother" instead of words like "sicko" and "lunatic", given the former's deep resentment towards him for what he had done. A few moments slid by before Mr Tendo let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.

"No. His parents were not fair to him either."

Soft gasps filled the otherwise-quiet room and Wales held Sophie's hand a little tighter, sensing the latter's acute sadness.

"Yu was born when Izaya was already 6 years old. Izaya appeared to be a son that was desired by countless parents. Extraordinarily smart, handsome, kind and caring. For the first few years after Yu was born, Izaya appeared to treat him nicely, watching television and playing games with him all the time. No one suspected anything wrong with Izaya or Yu. But when Yu turned 5..."

Mr Tendo stopped for a moment, as though saying it tortured him.

"Izaya changed."

He shook his head.

"Yu's parents did not notice since things got busier during that time. Yu's father, Arthur, was a prominent lawyer and was handling a major case regarding celebrities while Yu's mother, Diane, was a socialite and fashion designer. However, one thing that they did wrong was that they treasured Izaya over Yu. They'd easily trust Izaya's words instead of Yu's, gave more love to the older than the younger. But in reality, they should have trusted Yu, because at that time, he and I found out... that Izaya's a part of an evil organization, which is the exact same one that you're all fighting right now."

"Wait, but if Yu's 5 at that time, wouldn't that make Izaya-" Chao Xin started.

"11. But Izaya's always been corrupted, Chao Xin. We just did not realize it sooner." Mr Tendo looked around at everyone before continuing. "Yu was terrified. He knew that Izaya had stopped being nice to him and often ignored him and even made fun of him, but he could not believe that the older brother that he looked up to was a liar, a traitor and a snake. All this time, Izaya had only been nice to Yu in order to try and lure the latter into joining Jason's organization, having already sensed Yu's potential. Even at the age of 5, Yu was already a bright kid. A genius, whether it is in academics or beyblade or just in the way minds work. He was sharp and could easily tell if something went wrong. That was how he caught Izaya communicating with one of Jason's henchmen and confronted him as a 5 year old, only for Izaya to offer him a place in the organization."

"But he said no," Klaus verbally spoke what Wales was thinking, "didn't he?"

Mr Tendo nodded. "Yu would never accept such a request. And his rejection led to Izaya threatening to make his life a living nightmare. Yu still refused to join and since you've seen what Izaya's like, you all can guess what happened next, right?

"Izaya tortured Yu. He went to Yu's school and spread lies about his own younger brother cheating in academics and in beyblade, saying that he was a fraud and a liar and to stay away from him. And all the teachers and students believed Izaya, especially since Yu often outsmarted the teachers and the students were jealous of his skills, even his supposed best friends. Teachers would pinpoint Yu's mistakes and humiliate him in front of everyone in class, sometimes falsely accusing him of cheating and dragging him to the principal's office. Students would push him to the ground, hitting and kicking him, sometimes stealing Libra and breaking it into pieces by attacking it with its beys over again even though Libra was not even launched, and no one took Yu's side when he reported the bullying, even as tears streaked the poor boy's face. Whenever he was forced into the principal's office, he would call me, knowing that his parents were busy, and my heart would always break for him whenever he sobbed and sniffled over the phone, unable to speak clearly."

Wales felt tears welling up inside his eyes as his heart throbbed excruciatingly, Mr Tendo's words daggers digging into its very core.

"I encouraged Yu to talk to his parents about this, assuring him that they would take care of things with Izaya. But what I didn't know was that when Yu told his parents everything, his father... he slapped Yu on the face. They told Yu that he was already terrible in his academics, a laughingstock at school and now he was blaming his beloved older brother who could do know wrong for everything? They called him a liar, worthless, and that he did not deserve to be called their son anymore." Mr Tendo winced, as though talking about the memory brought him unspeakable pain. "I demanded for them to stop, holding onto Yu as he cried in my arms, but on the spiralling stairwell, I saw Izaya. I could never forgive the amused, dark smirk that he showed and the way he laughed as his parents wrongfully berated Yu. After that, Yu did not leave his room for days. Even when it was his 6th birthday, he did not come down and his parents did not bother to try and patch things up with him when they should be worried. I unlocked the door from the outside and found Yu laying unconscious on the floor, his face pale, malnourished, his face wet with tears. I rushed him to the hospital. I did not tell his parents or Izaya not only because I had not forgiven any of them, but because they would only hurt Yu once he woke up. Seeing how much they made him suffer, that was when I made up my mind."

Mr Tendo smiled lightly.

"That was when I decided to send him off on a journey."

His voice was somehow lighter now, as though he had been relieved of a heavy burden, and Wales felt himself let out a breath that he had no idea he had been holding as a few tears pooled around his eyes.

"Yu panicked at first. What if his parents found out? What if Izaya tried to track him down? But I told him that I would make all the arrangements and that none of them would be able to find him. I had trusted connections and friends; this man may be old, but he's a silver fox, you know." Mr Tendo laughed slightly. "Anyway, so on the morning that Yu was supposed to be discharged from the hospital, I personally took to his new residence; an apartment that I had purchased and designed just for him and no one else in that family knew of. I made sure to delete any proof of that purchase from my accounts so that no one would be able to track Yu from there. I also gave Yu his own cellphone and packed his belongings for him and took them out of the house when no one was around. Yu's family had tortured the poor boy and made him suffer, and I was not going to let it go on any longer. And I told him that he could go anywhere that he wanted to, that he was free to live out his own life without constraints from Izaya and his parents."

"Sir?" Wales asked.

"Yes, Wales?"

"Um..." Wales hesitated for a moment, unsure if he would like the answer, "did they find out?"

"They did, but they did not find him."

Mr Tendo sipped his tea again.

"His parents were furious at first. They yelled at me, demanding to know why I let a six-year-old, _**their**_ six-year-old, go on a journey on his own. I looked them in the eye and said, _You let Yu, your own six-year-old son and my grandson,_ **suffer** _on his own._ They said that they were educating him, but I laughed.How was having favourites among your own children and disregarding, slapping and falsely accusing one of them defined as 'education'? I was furious and so were they. They kept pushing me to tell them where Yu was, but I did not budge. And they disregarded me... until five years later, Izaya announced that he was leaving home. That he was leaving to join the other members of the organization that he was a vital part of and that they were far more important than his own family."

"That little-" Chao Xin cursed under his breath.

"That was when Yu's parents realized their biggest mistake. They had been so blinded by Izaya's facade that they pushed away and cruelly treated Yu, who had always been so honest. They had trusted a wolf in sheep's clothing instead of an innocent, kind-hearted boy who had only wished for their love. But by the time they realized their mistake, it was too late. Not only had Yu gone travelling with Tsubasa around that time; he had also decided to leave his cellphone because that time, he decided that he did not want to keep glancing at his phone in case they suddenly called to berate him. He wanted to be free from that pain, even if it lingered in his heart. And they... they were also ashamed to face Yu. They did not know how to make it up to him after all those years that he'd spent without them. They said that he deserved to hate them, because when he needed them the most, they called him a burden. But what they failed to realize was that... Yu could never hate them, that he'd always loved them. That was why he always asked me about them. Because deep down, even though they hurt him too much... he just wanted to be sincerely loved by them."

Warm tears slipped down Wales' cheeks as he held back a sob. 

"But even though he did not feel loved by his own family, he was loved. He was deeply loved by the people he met in his journey, his best friends."

Mr Tendo gazed at him with a gentle smile. 

"More than anything, he talks about his friends when he talks to me through messages and during phone calls. He talks about how much he's learned, how much he's grown, how much he's laughed, smiled and cried with all of you. I remember the first time he mentioned Tsubasa, back when he was in the Dark Nebula organization thinking that it was a good place to be in. Yu was complaining about Tsubasa, about how he got beaten by him and did not like him. I was laughing and eventually, I smiled when he told me that despite how annoying Tsubasa was, Yu was glad to have him as company. It made him feel a little less alone. And then he started talking about more people. Kenta, Gingka, Benkei, Yo-Yo- I mean, Kyoya."

Everyone laughed despite the tears in their eyes.

"And just months ago, Yu began to talk about all of you particularly a lot, especially you, Wales."

Wales' eyes widened.

"Yu said that you were probably the person that he could relate to the most, even if you did not know that. He said that while so many people said that you were arrogant, rude and blunt, you were actually one of the kindest, selfless and bravest people that he knew and that he was extremely lucky to have gotten to meet you and become your close friend, ally and teammate. He said that the time that he spent with you, Tsubasa, Sophie and everyone else ever since that incident in Paris was the happiest that he's ever been. Because he felt deeply loved and treasured, felt like he had people who needed him and whom he needed. It was possibly the first time in a long time that he did not bring up Izaya, maybe even forgetting to spare him a thought, because he cared about all of you more than he cared about anyone else. He said that you made him feel strong even though he was weak, happy even when he wanted to cry, brave even though he was scared of losing the people he cared about the most."

Mr Tendo took Wales' hand and held it tightly, his lips curved into a warm smile as tears fell from the latter's eyes, one which Yu granted him with his last, dying wish.

"So even though he went sooner than he should have, I thank you, Wales, for making his smile as much as he did."

_"Wally... you're super cool and loyal and your eyes show it... no matter what other people say... And I want to always... be there for you..."_

Yu's kind words seeped into his head like a warm breath as Wales let out a shaky breath, a lump in his throat, and nodded quietly, unable to say a word. Mr Tendo pulled him into his arms and held him tightly as Wales let out one quiet sob after another, one tear after another. Yu shouldn't be the one thanking him. In truth, Wales should be the one thanking Yu. But... he accepted it. If Wales had made Yu happier than before, if he had made him smile and laugh, if he had made the younger boy's world a little brighter than before, he was glad. Closing his eyes, he did not see pitch black. Instead, he saw Yu in the garden in which they had Earl Grey milk tea together, and the blond boy was looking at him with tears in his smiling eyes, beaming brightly. 

_"Wally!"_

_"Let's do this together now!"_

_"Are you okay, Wally?"_

_"I want to always... be there for you..."_

"Yu said... that he always wanted to be there for us... all of us."

Pulling away from Mr Tendo, Wales looked around at everyone and with tears in his eyes, smiled as he placed a hand on the left side of his chest.

"He always will... right here."

???

_You are deeply beloved._

_A child of innocence and light._

_Just close your eyes and wait a little longer._

_It's almost time to depart._

Wales

"Would you like to join us for lunch, sir?"

"You're inviting this old man to lunch?" Mr Tendo joked, earning laughs from Wales and the others.

"Of course, sir," Chao Xin responded, his arm wrapped around Wales and Sophie, discreetly pushing the two together. He grinned. "Then we can tell you all about these two lovebirds too!"

"Chao Xin!" Wales exclaimed, his face flushing.

"What?" Chao Xin gave him a cheeky smirk. "You guys are lovebirds, right?"

"I second that," Klaus agreed with a wide smile.

"Me too!"

"Yeah!"

"Buzz off!" Wales exclaimed with a laugh as he lightly pushed Chao Xin away.

Everyone laughed. They had spent the entire morning with Roger Tendo, chatting, laughing and smiling over tea and snacks. The elderly man even showed them around the entire mansion, from the art gallery to the garden to Yu's old bedroom. Wales looked down at the photo that he had taken of a painting that Mr Tendo had made, the one of Yu and all of his closest friends, including Wales. Wales knew that whenever he looked at that picture, it would always give him the strength that he needed. A servant opened the door for them and Wales nodded with a smile, quietly thanking her.

"How about some pasta?"

"Or sushi?"

"No way!"

"Hey!"

"Calm down, you-"

Thud!

The sound rang inside Wales' ears and before anyone could react, metal walls came falling from the ceiling, sealing all the exits, covering all the windows and views of the outside world. Wales heard the sound of a launcher being ripped and in the next moment, Chao Xin's Virgo had unleashed its special move and sent a beam of orange and yellow light aimed straight at the metal wall where the nearest exit used to be. However, when the smoke cleared, the walls were not dented by the slightest bit.

Chao Xin cursed as panic flared inside of Wales.

"The security system isn't supposed to be activated!"

Mr Tendo was glancing around frantically, his eyes demanding an explanation from his servants.

"Who triggered the system?"

"We did."

His heart thudding in his chest, Wales gasped and his head snapped over to the spiralling stairwell, from which Izaya, Jason and Hayoto were descending, their footsteps loud and ominous. Without hesitation, everyone pointed their launchers at them, prepared for a long fight, the atmosphere now thick with unspoken tension, resentment, anger, anguish and determination. Klaus, Sophie and Wales had shared Julian's warning with Team Wang Hu Zhong, so throughout their entire time here, they had kept their guard up and their beys and launchers close in case something like this happened. And so they were all ready.

_This ends today._

"So you broke out of your cell, huh, kid?" Chao Xin questioned, his teeth gritted as his cold eyes remained on Izaya.

Izaya acted as though he did not hear Chao Xin's words and looked straight at Mr Tendo, whose eyes were no longer filled with humour. 

"Nice family portrait you have in your bedroom," Izaya remarked nonchalantly, sneering. "Except that I'm not there and the worthless kid is." 

"Regroup into three groups now," Dashan muttered and they all slipped into position. There were seven of them, so there were to be two groups of two and one group of three. Dashan and Chao Xin nodded at each other; Chi-yun and Mei-Mei glanced at each other; Klaus, Sophie and Wales inched closer to one another. 

"Yu was never worthless," Mr Tendo defended Yu, his eyes grave, "and after betraying this family, why would you expect to be in that portrait, especially since you do not value the meaning of family? And from what everyone's told me of all three of you..."

Mr Tendo narrowed his eyes.

"Not a single one of you do."

"Well, say what you want, old man," Hayoto said with a mocking tone, "but the three of us are here, as a _**family**_ , to settle an old score."

Hayoto pointed straight at Wales, who gave him a cold glare.

"We, as a family, will make sure that this time, you really drown in your despair and _**die**_."

"Really?"

Wales shook his head, looking Hayoto in the eye.

"Because it sounds like you've been doing a lot of wistful thinking."

Hayoto spat a curse. "Why you-"

"Calm down, dear son," Jason said, glancing at Hayoto. "There is no need to argue with that worthless nephew of mine. Save your speech to degrade him as he drowns in his own despair, to mock him as he disappears from the face of the very earth we live in like the filth that he is!"

"That won't happen," Sophie spoke up, her kind olive eyes fierce. "Not on our watch! Because we're his family and we won't let you take anyone away from us!"

"We're the ones who'll make you disappear!" Klaus declared.

"Stay behind us, sir," Dashan said, placing an arm in front of Mr Tendo. His eyes were narrowed. "We won't let them go anywhere near you."

Izaya scoffed. "We'll see what you weaklings can do."

Izaya, Jason and Hayoto pointed their launchers at them and instantly, Wales knew who he, Sophie and Klaus were going to battle. Jason. His so-called uncle. Taking a deep breath, Wales did not let Jason's deranged smile break his focus as he looked into the latter's cold, arrogant eyes. Jason and Hayoto had escaped more times than Wales could even count, but this time, they were _**done**_. Without any warning, everyone launched their beys at the same time and explosions resounded in the Tendo residence, a pristine mansion now-turned into a stranglehold of a war that had lasted for too long. 

"Let's go, guys!" Wales shouted. 

_For you..._

"Yeah!"

_For all of you... Yu, Tsubasa, Kenta, Julian, everyone..._

"This fight..." Wales clenched his teeth tightly, gathering all his emotions and power in his heart, "ends today!"

_We'll end this together._

???

_The time to depart... is now._


	48. A Bright Dawn

Wales

"You think the seven of you can beat all three of us?"

Izaya grinned evilly as his bey, revealed to be named Vice, lunged itself towards Blue Cetus along with Devilry and Malevolence, his emerald eyes glinting with malice. Wales half-anticipated this. They had to ditch the plan of splitting into sub-groups and handling one sicko each; it was seven versus three. Not that Wales minded; whichever plan they chose, they were all in this one together. Wales quietly thought of a plan as Izaya cackled at him.

"You don't even have any Legendary Bladers or Eagle boy with you!"

"That's where you're wrong," Wales responded, narrowing his eyes as Zurafa and White Cetus blocked Malevolence and Vice, respectively. "They're with us, even if you can't physically see them."

Wales placed a hand on his chest and gritted his teeth.

"And I'll prove it to you now! Blue Cetus!"

At once, Wales and Blue Cetus were engulfed in a burst of azure aura, the former putting his entire heart into the attack that he was about to release.

"Wales!" Sophie, Klaus and Chao Xin called out.

"Blue Cetus: Sword of Souls - Water!"

Hayoto scoffed. "We've seen that b-"

"Eagle: Sword of Souls - Wind!"

"W-Wait-"

"Libra: Sword of Souls -" Wales looked Hayoto in the eye fiercely, refusing to hold back by even the smallest ounce "- Light!"

Wales' eyes darted over to Sophie and the latter nodded with determination burning in her eyes.

"White Cetus: Sword of Souls - Ice!"

At once, four different-coloured swords - green, blue, white and lilac - were all summoned and all swept towards the three opposing beys, flashing across the heavy air. Wales jerked his arm forward, crying out, and all the swords struck the beys directly on target like arrows: Libra's sword struck Vice; Eagle's sword attacked Malevolence; and the twin Cetus' swords pierced Devilry. All the attacks triggered massive explosions of multi-coloured lights and everyone was pushed back due to the recoil, and Wales felt his wheelchair crash against the wall and miraculously, it landed safely on the white floor.

"Sword of Souls..." Wales slowly opened his eyes and looked straight at the wafts of dust and smoke that concealed his view of the battle, "... Aozora!"

The blue, green, lilac and white glows of the swords intensified and spread throughout the entire room, nearly blinding Wales' eyes. He gritted his teeth, using all the strength that he had to concentrate all his memories, tears, emotions and power into that one special move. Yu's bey genius was working again. That was how he knew that he was able to use Tsubasa and Yu's Sword of Souls moves even without their beys present, as well as the right timing to trigger the joint special move Sword of Souls: Aozora. As the smoke cleared, Wales could make out ten silhouettes of spinning beys, but he was not disappointed. He knew that the moves would not be enough to end the battle, but that was fine. No matter how many moves it took, he, Sophie, Klaus, Dashan, Chao Xin, Mei-Mei and Chi-yun were going to end this war once and for all. As Sophie and Klaus went back to his side and everyone from Team Wang Hu Zhong got up from the ground, Wales could see that the opponents' beys were spinning slower now, meaning that he had weakened them.

This was a decent start. _Thank you, Yu, Tsubasa._

"It's your turn, guys!" Wales called out.

"You don't need to tell me twice!" Chao Xin said, a grin in his voice as he cracked his knuckles. "Been waiting for my chance to get back at these sickos! Virgo!"

"Aquario!"

"Lacerta!"

All three beys clanged against the opposing beys, causing orange and red sparks to fly everywhere, pushing them back little by little. Wales, Sophie and Klaus then called out to their beys and in less than five seconds, all three opposing beys were trapped in pincer attacks. Wales glanced at Dashan, whose bey was the only one uninvolved in a pincer attack, and smiled slightly, guessing that the leader of Team Wang Hu Zhong already had a plan in mind.

"You think you've got the upper hand just because it's seven against three?"

Hayoto cackled, giving Wales and his friends a mocking grin.

"Some joke!"

At once, all three beys pushed the other six beys heavily and engulfed themselves in identical black auras. However, before anyone could launch an attack, Dashan's voice rang out.

"Zurafa, Special Move: Leader's Resonance!"

Zurafa cloaked itself in a bright yellow aura and for a brief moment, it flashed into the appearance of another bey, much to Wales' shock. _Julian?_ Wales gasped as Dashan swept his arm forward and three identical copies of Destroyer's Excalibur fused with Dashan's yellow aura pierced Devilry, Vice and Malevolence, causing a massive explosion to knock everyone back.

"Nice, Dashan!" Chao Xin cheered.

The smoke cleared and the opponents' beys were revealed to have become weaker yet again. Wales was about to command Blue Cetus to attack again when he heard Jason speak first.

"Now."

In a flash, Devilry unleashed its beast - a half-sea-monster-half-king swinging a trident and lunged through the air. Wales had initially thought that Devilry was attacking Blue Cetus, but in less than a moment, he gasped, his eyes dilating in horror. His bey was not the target. He could hear Jason cackling with lunacy as the beast drew closer and closer.

The target was _**Wales**_.

"Wales!"

Suddenly, his wheelchair was pushed to one side and an explosion boomed inside Wales' ears. Coughing and breathing heavily, Wales swivelled around and saw a dent on the metal wall, caused by the blow that had been intended for him. Next to him, Sophie and Klaus were panting heavily, looking at Wales with relieved expressions in their eyes. Wales gave them a quick nod of thanks before turning to glare at Jason, whose lips were twisted into a sickening smile.

"So this is not a bey battle anymore, is it?" Wales demanded, his voice as cold as ice.

Jason sneered. "Took you long enough to catch on, you wretched nephew."

"Well, if that's the rule," Wales heard Chao Xin shout furiously, "so be it! It was about life and death anyway!"

"Good that you fools agreed."

Izaya, Hayoto and Jason all retrieved their beys and pointed them straight at Wales and his friends. Izaya laughed.

"Can't wait to make you-"

Izaya's words were cut mid-sentence as the claw of a bey's spirit was pierced through his chest, causing crimson blood to leak out of the fatal lesion. Wales' eyes dilated in shock and disbelief as he spun around to face Chi-yun, who was staring at Izaya with cold chestnut eyes as though he did not care that the person before his very eyes was bleeding because of him. Wales could not believe it. Of all of them, Chi-yun was possibly the least attached to the group. Chi-yun was normally more passive than the rest, more indifferent compared to everyone else. But in this battle, Chi-yun had just taken advantage of the interval between the past and future attacks and used Lacerta to end Izaya, dealing the first deadly blow in this battle. Gasping, Izaya stumbled backwards and thudded to the ground, his body quivering uncontrollably as the light in his unforgiving eyes began to disappear.

"Y-You..."

"That's for what you did to Yu," Chi-yun spoke quietly, remaining where he was, "to Tsubasa, to Wales and to everyone else. That's for making everyone that Chi-yun cares about suffer."

"Y-You... m-monster..."

"It's self-defence, Izaya."

Chi-yun narrowed his eyes.

"And Chi-yun knows that you're the real monster."

Izaya opened his mouth to speak, but it was short-lived and his body turned motionless, not a single quiver or twitch visible to the eye. When Chi-yun took a step back, he stumbled, like the reality of what he'd just done was sinking in, and Chao Xin took ahold of his shoulder, squeezing it as though to say, "It's alright." Slowly, with terrified eyes, Chi-yun looked at Chao Xin and everyone else, and they smiled or nodded, assuring the younger boy.

"Like you said, it was self-defence."

Dashan placed a hand on Chi-yun's head and narrowed his eyes at Jason and a seething Hayoto.

"And they're the real monsters."

Without uttering a word, Chi-yun quietly nodded.

"You... you freaking scum!"

Hayoto glowered at all of them, his eyes raging with sheer lunacy.

"You call yourselves the good guys and then kill my friend off just like that? You-"

"Virgo!"

Virgo charged at Hayoto, only to be intercepted by Jason's Devilry. Chao Xin gritted his teeth in anger.

"There, there-" Jason began.

"Argh!"

Klaus' Capricorn lunged towards Jason, only to be blocked by Hayoto's Malevolence. Klaus cursed under his breath, but Wales had a feeling that there was more to Chao Xin and Jason's attacks. They would not stop just like that. There had to be-

"Dashan!"

Dashan's Zurafa sent blasts of yellow aura shooting straight at both Hayoto and Jason. As though acting on their blader instincts, White Cetus and Blue Cetus helped trap Devilry while Lacerta and Aquarius aided in making sure that Malevolence had nowhere to run, and although Jason narrowly dodged the attack, Hayoto was too slow and the yellow blast scorched the latter like flames, earning bone-chilling screams and shrieks from him. He sounded almost like a wild animal.

"I'm sorry, but..."

Dashan looked upon the shrieking Hayoto with an unforgiving stare.

"You've made me resort to means that I do not usually use."

"Argh!" Hayoto was screaming with uncontrollable rage, hatred and agony. "Argh! Argh! Argh!"

"Goodbye... fellow blader."

For the next few moments, Hayoto continued to shriek as the yellow aura burned against him more and more, and no one stepped forward to help him, not even his own uncle, who merely pretended as though he did not hear anything. Wales quietly stared, trying not to take notice of the quivering of his heart. Hayoto was an archenemy, but still... he was not accustomed to watching someone cry out all the way until they met their demise. Much to Wales' gratitude, the screaming slowly began to subside and once the yellow aura had completely faded away, all that was left of the ruthless Hayoto was grey powdery ashes.

"Now that those two kids are out of the way..."

Wales gritted his teeth as Jason cackled gleefully.

"How about I make the next move?"

"Not a chance!" Chao Xin exclaimed as all seven of their beys surrounded Devilry.

"Well, two of you having the guts to kill Izaya and Hayoto was unprecedented, but still..." Jason mused, examining everyone's faces with an amused, twisted smile. "How interesting..."

"Your own son died before your very eyes!"

Wales stared at Jason in utter disbelief and disgust.

"Don't you feel anything?"

"To feel is a weakness, dear nephew."

Wales gritted his teeth as Jason took a few steps forward, not caring how much closer he was getting to Blue Cetus and all the other beys.

"Your 'feelings' are what led all of you to my clutches in the first place," Jason continued, his eyes glinting with malice and mockery, directed straight at Wales. "They are what led you right here. The way you cried over memories that can't be brought back, the way you blamed yourselves pathetically even though it was all over, the way you came here to learn more about a dead kid-"

"His name is Yu!" Wales yelled, fury boiling in his blood. "You have no right to refer him to him that way! He has a name and it's Yu!"

"And you harness your 'feelings' to give you the power that you believe can stop me... Pfft." Jason scoffed and dipped a hand into his right pocket, his lips curling into a cold smile. "Well... this matter has always been far beyond Beyblade, so... let's see how far your feelings can protect you outside of that game!"

Jason grinned.

"Take this!"

Jason's hand was yanked out of his pocket and he threw something at Wales, cackling with malevolence. It took a second for Wales to realize what it was and his eyes dilated as his body froze. Jason had sent a knife windmilling towards his chest. Just as the knife was about to pierce through Wales, he suddenly heard a loud voice cry out to him.

"Wally!"

Before his mind could even process the voice, the sound of the ripping of a launcher filled his ears and the knife was knocked away from him in mid-air by another bey, one that had not been in this battle in the first place. Jason was opening his mouth to speak when the bey suddenly ripped through his chest, causing blood to start flowing out. Wales' stared with shock, disbelief and bewilderment as Jason slumped backwards and fell heavily onto the ground, his body quivering violently. He shakily tried to raise a finger to point at something or someone, but his eyes suddenly widened and then fell to a heavy close, his body limp and unmoving, his defeat sealed. The moment Jason was gone, Wales slowly turned to the direction from which the all-too-familiar bey was launched and in an instant, he nearly stopped breathing.

Tears welled up inside his eyes. "T-This... T-This is..."

A younger boy was breathing in and out heavily, bent down, clutching his chest. His eyes were squeezed shut in agony, as though he was the one who had just been attacked, and his sunshine-blond hair swayed faintly in the air. After a few more moments, he slowly opened his large emerald eyes and turned to face Wales, their eyes meeting after what felt like ages. His eyes widened and tears began to pool around them as warm tears began to run down Wales' cheeks. Wales could hardly believe it. Was he dreaming? Was this some kind of illusion? Was this... was this real...? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Klaus and Sophie starting to cry, and he could hear Chao Xin beginning to sob. So daring to hope, Wales tried to say the boy's name.

"Y..."

Wales took a deep breath and let it out, unable to stop himself from shaking.

"Yu...? Yu...?"

Yu let out a choked sob and broke into a run towards Wales.

"Wally!" he yelled.

In a flash, Yu had tackled him into a tight hug and Wales had wrapped his arms around the younger boy tightly, the former's tears drenching his T-shirt, the latter's tears falling onto the former's blond hair. This warmth, his voice, his eyes... This was real. Wales let out even more quiet sobs as Yu cried harder in his arms, tightening his arms around the younger boy. Yu was alive. Yu was right here, in the flash, alive in his arms, and had saved him again from Jason while consequently ending this entire war once and for all. Slowly, Wales could feel Sophie, Klaus, Chao Xin, Dashan and everyone else joining the hug, sobs and weeps filling the otherwise-silent room.

_We all missed you so much... Yu._

"Yu..."

After what felt like an eternity, everyone slowly peeled themselves off the youngest boy and Wales placed his hands on Yu's shoulders, tears stinging his eyes.

"You're back. You can't imagine how excruciating it's been without you here with us, Yu..."

Yu lowered his eyes in guilt. "I'm so sorry, Wally-"

"Hey, you don't have to apologize."

Wales wiped the tears away from Yu's face, giving him a genuine smile.

"We're all just so happy to have you here with us again, Yu."

Yu wiped at his tears with the sleeve of his white shirt and let out a weak chuckle as he looked around at Wales and everyone else with a warm smile. However, Yu's eyes suddenly widened in shock and he exclaimed:

"Grandpa?"

Wales turned to where Yu was facing and his eyes dilated.

"Mr Tendo!"

Yu was the first one to reach Mr Tendo, who was starting to fade away, pale green, white and yellow lights twinkling around him. He grabbed his grandfather's hands, staring at him with tears running down his face like raindrops, and the elderly man gave him a bittersweet smile.

"I guess it's time for me to depart," Mr Tendo admitted, his voice quiet, "Yu."

"What do you mean, grandpa?" Yu asked, his voice cracking.

"Do you know how you managed to come back despite sacrificing yourself to save your friend?"

Mr Tendo placed a hand on top of Yu's head, tears glimmering in his old green eyes.

"All of us - your mom, dad and I - chose to sacrifice our lives... to bring you back."

Everyone gasped as Yu's eyes dilated in sheer shock and hurt, tears pooling around his large green eyes as his body quivered violently.

"Mom...? Dad...?"

"The day after you died, we were given the choice to exchange our lives for yours. Your parents were given the choice first and they took it immediately, wanting to set things right with you, and I took it last, having found out about it last."

Yu let out a choked sob. "But that's-"

"We decided that your life mattered more than o-"

"But you deserve to live too, grandpa!" Yu cried out, his voice tortured with sheer agony, and Wales felt tears coiling around his eyes.

_Yu..._

"It's okay, Yu."

Mr Tendo placed his arms around the crying boy, a lone tear falling from his right eye.

"We're all..." his voice faltered, "doing this... because... we all love you, Yu, and we always will."

"I l-love... you too..." Yu buried his face inside his grandfather's chest, his voice a muffled, broken whisper. "And mom and dad... I love all of you! You'll always be my family!"

Mr Tendo let out a light chuckle, his body close to disappearing into the light, more tears slipping down his face. "We know, Yu... We always have."

Mr Tendo turned around to face Wales, Sophie, Dashan and everyone else and smiled warmly at them.

"Promise me... you'll take care of Yu for all of us."

"We will," Wales agreed as everyone else nodded, placing a hand on Yu's shoulder, smiling through his tears. "We always will, don't worry."

"Then... I shall depart."

Mr Tendo closed his eyes, his expression peaceful and content.

"Goodbye... everyone."

"Grandpa!" Yu cried out.

But just as Yu cried out to his grandfather one last time, the elderly man disappeared into the light. All that was left of Mr Tendo was faint green, white and yellow sparkles that slowly faded away as Yu stared at his empty arms that had held his grandfather one last time. 

"G-Grand..." Yu whispered, his voice trembling, "...pa..."

Tears rolled down his cheeks as a few quiet sobs slipped out of his quivering lips. Wales gave Yu's shoulder a gentle squeeze and the younger boy looked at him with a broken expression of anguish, agony and grief. Without a word, Wales pulled Yu into his arms and let his close friend cry as much as he needed to, even as the metal walls were lifted, even as Ryo Hagane and everyone else were calling out to them from the outside. Wales just held Yu close to him and let the boy cry.

It was over.

Warm daylight filtered through the glass windows and Wales could see the bright-coloured flowers dotted all over the grand garden outside the mansion of their final battle. He rubbed Yu's hair gently and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jason, laying on the ground, his body motionless.

_Dawn has come._

Sophie placed a hand on his shoulder and Wales gave her a smile of pain, sorrow and grief, but most of all, hope.

_And it's a bright one._


	49. Epilogue

_3 months later..._

"Although we may be rivals and opponents in the tournament that will start in approximately an hour..."

Julian raised his glass of iced tea with a light smile.

"Cheers, to our friendship and blader spirit."

"Cheers!"

Everyone clinked their glasses or cups together and started to eat and drink. The stadium had been rebuilt and Ryo Hagane had made the official announcement. At exactly 1 p.m. today, the tournament that had previously been postponed due to the ordeal involving Hayoto and Jason would restart with a new set of rules. Each group was to have 8-10 members and there would be no elimination rounds. Instead, there would be a variety of different challenges and battles, which could range from those of individuals to pairs to everyone, in which the groups would have to compete with one another and at the end of the tournament, the group with the most number of points would be declared the victors. Everyone had been anticipating the day and were determined to win, but right now, they sat in Nijimura Garden, having one large meal together before they began to compete again after so long.

Team Sekai consisted of Gingka, Masamune, Kenta, Yuki, Chris, King, Toby, Zeo, Madoka and Hikaru. Gingka and his friends had managed to convince Hikaru to compete in Beyblade alongside everyone else once again and so the Aquario blader was on board. However, she and Madoka constantly got headaches from being mediators of their group of bickering boys, especially the fights between Gingka and Masamune, as well as Masamune and King. While the girls were grateful to Kenta and Yuki for being extremely cooperative and to Toby and Zeo for helping them try and break up the fighting duos, Gingka, Masamune, Chris and King could be quite the handful; "powerful bladers that create way too much noise", quoted from Zeo. Now Madoka could only sigh heavily as Masamune tried to grab the captain band from Gingka and the two boys yelled at each other, with Kenta and Yuki facepalming. But at the very least, they were probably the liveliest, rowdiest group in the entire tournament.

Team Yugure had nine members: Kyoya, Dynamis, Tithi, Bao, Aguma, Nile, Demure, Benkei and Hyoma. While this particular group was not nearly as attached to one another as the people in Gingka's group were to one another, especially with Kyoya and Dynamis' clashing of ideals, they all had one goal in common - victory - and eventually bonded through their will to be victorious, especially over Gingka's group. Chewing on his food, Nile quietly observed as Dynamis began to give gentle advice to Kyoya about leading the team to victory, and a smile was formed on his lips.

 _Although it seemed really unlikely_ , Nile thought, _this will do._

Meanwhile, with Team Aozora...

"For some reason, when it comes to this group, we always have this problem."

Julian sighed before looking around at his teammates that were sitting around the same round table.

"We have not chosen a leader."

Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at Julian, just remembering that they had not given anyone the pivotal role. Tsubasa, Chi-yun, Klaus and Dashan stopped talking about ancient history and calligraphy; Chao Xin and Mei-Mei stopped bickering about the latter's fashion, about which the former actually had no idea what he was blabbering about; Wales stopped pouring more Earl Grey milk tea for Yu, who was eating his strawberry ice-cream.

"We all totally forgot about that!" Yu cried out, his green eyes wide with realization.

"But I thought it was going to be flamingo!" Mei-Mei exclaimed.

"It's 'flexible'," Mei-Mei," Chao Xin corrected her, facepalming.

"That's what I said!"

"Dear Lord..."

"But the rules said that we need one for tie-breakers and leader rounds," Julian said, scrolling through the rules on his cellphone. "We did not need to inform them who the leader would be when we first signed up, but all the leaders will have to step forward when each team is called out during the opening ceremony."

"Ohh..."

This was the new Team Aozora, consisting of a grand total of ten people: Wales, Yu, Sophie, Tsubasa, Julian, Klaus, Dashan, Chi-yun, Mei-Mei and Chao Xin. The second the announcement came out two months ago, Team Aozora and Team Wang Hu Zhong immediately decided that they wanted to merge their groups together and form one large group for the tournament. Even after the war with Jason and Hayoto ended, the members of the two teams remained extremely tight with one another, hanging out everyday to get to know one another better, and grew closer and closer as time passed, sharing comedic, deep and precious moments. When Julian was about to open his mouth to speak again, Chao Xin raised his hand.

"Yes?" Julian asked.

"Can we take a vote?"

Chao Xin grinned.

"Because I have someone in mind and I bet that all of you are thinking of the same person as I am!"

"Very well," Julian responded, nodding with a small smile. "Does everyone agree with the suggestion?"

"Yes!" everyone agreed. Wales nodded.

"On the count of 3, point at the person that you choose as your leader." Julian raised three fingers. "Ready? 1... 2... 3!"

Everyone pointed their fingers. Wales' eyes dilated in sheer astonishment as his heart stumbled in his chest. While his finger was pointed at Tsubasa, all the other nine bladers were pointing at him, with smiles and grins on their faces.

"What-" Wales nearly choked. "Me?"

"Did you really think that Tsubasa and I would forget such an important detail for the tournament after reading through the rules?"

Dashan folded his arms with an amused smile.

"We all were waiting for this moment to reveal our newly-appointed captain by choice: you, Wales, my friend."

Wales stared at everyone, unable to process what was happening. "But I told you; I don't want to be a-"

"But you are already a leader, Wally! You have it in you!"

Yu slung an arm around Wales, beaming at him.

"Come on! We all believe in you and have seen what you can do, Wally! We wanna see you take action as our leader for once! It'll be a total blast! After everything we've all been through, we wanna see you be the one who guides us all the way!"

Wales rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "That doesn't-"

"Say yes, Wales!"

"We believe in you!"

"We want you to be the leader this time!"

"We know that you can do it!"

"Come on, Wales!"

_Oh dear..._

Wales could feel his cheeks swelling with blood as all nine of his teammates started to cheer his name, causing everyone from the other tables to look straight at them. He was catapulted back to the time when he had nearly blurted his past involving Jason when refusing to be the leader, believing that he was incapable of it. _I... am not brave enough_ , he had said, his voice cracking. And it was true; he was not brave enough. He had been too scared of leading them, unsure if he could protect them from getting hurt given how cowardly he was regarding his own past. But right now... they all believed in him. They all believed in him more than enough to want him to take charge for once in his life. They all believed in him not just as his close friends and fellow bladers, but as his family, and Wales could never express how blessed he felt to have them in words. So deciding to believe in himself this time, Wales looked at all of them and nodded.

"Alright."

Wales gave them a sincere smile.

"I'll be the leader."

At once, everyone, even the people and bladers sitting at other tables, erupted into thunderous applause and cheer, as though it was a massive celebration, much to Wales' mild surprise. He had only agreed to be a leader, but it was like they were celebrating the start of a new year. But then again, it was kinda a new beginning for all of them, right? Wales felt someone tackle him from the side and before he knew it, his back hit the ground and Yu was hugging him tightly, laughing happily.

"Let's make a sandwich!"

"Yeah!"

Chao Xin jumped on top of Yu, followed by Mei-Mei, Chi-yun, Tsubasa, Kenta and many others. Wales groaned and laughed from underneath, and laughed even more when the "sandwich" came toppling down and his friends burst into utter laughter. Pulling himself into sitting position, Wales felt a few hands pulling him up and turned to Sophie, Yu and Tsubasa, all who were smiling at him. As Chao Xin, Masamune, Mei-Mei, Kenta and some others started to play tag, yelling and laughing, Wales couldn't help but smile brightly, the warm daylight spilling onto the mahogany floor like clear water.

And everyone knew that at long last, Wales was entirely, wholeheartedly filled with bliss.

_Thank you, everyone._

Wales saw his black choker around Tsubasa's neck and wrapped his arm around the sliver-haired boy as he, the latter, Sophie and Yu looked out the window and saw that the sky was painted a beautiful, pristine blue, not a single shadow to be seen.

_For letting me finally see a clear blue sky with my heart._

**The End**


	50. Thank You

Thank you, everyone, for reading this fanfiction and supporting it. It means a lot to me. It is my first fanfiction and I am happy with the story flowed and have enjoyed writing out the journey of Yu, Tsubasa, Wales, Sophie and everyone else. Thank you, everyone, for giving this book a chance; I am sincerely grateful for it.

Also, this may be the end of Binded Souls, but it is not the end of my writing. I am working on another fanfiction, but it is not about Beyblade. It is about a different series, Uta no Prince-sama. In the fanfiction, three young idols form a special, unbreakable bond through their anguish, agony, fears and sorrow. I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you once again; you support means so much to me.


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